EU Drug Market: MDMA — Key findings and threat assessment

This resource is part of EU Drug Market: MDMA — In-depth analysis by the EUDA and Europol.

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Last update: September 2024

MDMA: a large and profitable market for criminal networks

• The MDMA market is large and profitable for the criminal networks involved in producing, trafficking and distributing the drug. The minimum estimated annual value of the retail market for MDMA in the European Union is at least EUR 594 million, with an estimated 72.4 million MDMA (ecstasy) tablets consumed in the European Union. This value does not include the considerable additional profits that are generated by the production, trafficking and distribution of MDMA produced in the European Union to external markets.
• MDMA is generally low in price, although there are exceptions and relatively large variations between countries. In general, it appears that prices for MDMA powders/crystals and ecstasy tablets are lower closer to the main centres of production, in the Netherlands and Belgium. Based on the data available, prices have remained relatively stable over the past decade.
• While some high-strength ecstasy tablets still circulate, the trend of increasing MDMA content observed between 2011 and 2019 appears to be reversing. The mean content of MDMA in ecstasy tablets was 144 milligrams in 2022, compared to 170 milligrams in 2019 and 84 milligrams in 2011. High-strength ecstasy tablets, containing more than 250 milligrams of MDMA, are still found on the EU market, which poses a high risk to users. As the prices of ecstasy tablets have generally remained stable since 2012 while their MDMA content has increased, accounting for inflation they have effectively become cheaper for consumers.
• Organised crime groups based in the EU are global producers of MDMA. Between 2018 and 2022, Europe accounted for over two fifths (43 %) of the global quantity of MDMA seized worldwide. The available data suggest that approximately half of the MDMA laboratories dismantled worldwide are located in Europe. Profitable markets in Oceania and Asia appear to be the main targets of MDMA shipments, but there is evidence to suggest that Latin America may be emerging as an increasingly important market. In some instances, barter deals of MDMA for cocaine may be occurring between criminals based in the European Union and criminals based in Latin America.
• MDMA production is concentrated in the Netherlands and Belgium, but there are some signs that production may be spreading beyond these countries. Dutch criminal networks remain the leading large-scale producers of MDMA in the European Union, operating production facilities outside the Netherlands as well. They also control MDMA production in Belgium, through Belgian subsidiaries, and cooperate with networks of distributors to traffic MDMA to consumer markets in Europe and globally. While Dutch criminal networks play a central role in the MDMA trade, trans-European criminal cooperation is evident in every link of the supply chain. Although still modest, the number of countries reporting the dismantling of MDMA production facilities in Europe has been increasing since 2018.
• Countries in the European Union are hubs for the trafficking of MDMA to non-EU countries. The Netherlands remains the main source region of MDMA trafficking flows worldwide, although Germany, Bulgaria and Belgium appear to be emerging as distribution hubs for MDMA to both European and external markets. A significant part of the MDMA produced in the Netherlands may be intended for more profitable overseas markets. Air and maritime transport appear to be the main methods used to traffic MDMA from Europe to external markets.
• Criminal networks are constantly adapting and improving methods for producing MDMA. To a large extent, improvements in MDMA production efficiency are a result of increasingly sophisticated production equipment and the application of chemical engineering techniques, a trend that had previously been noted.
• The main MDMA production method uses PMK, mostly via the ‘high-pressure’ method, which is also used for the large-scale production of methamphetamine from BMK. This method therefore enables drug producers to switch easily between the two drugs, depending on the demand. Due to the international control of PMK, criminals rely on sourcing designer precursors, predominantly from Asia (mostly China), which are then converted into PMK in Europe.
• A parallel criminal infrastructure delivers essential logistical support to EU-based MDMA producers. Dedicated criminal networks are specialised in supplying precursors, designer precursors, chemicals and reagents, as well as equipment or expertise in setting up production facilities. They form part of an ecosystem in which crime is strongly interlinked with the legitimate business environment, for example, through the misuse of legal business structures and fraudulent practices. Companies in the EU are either established, procured or infiltrated by specialised criminal networks for these purposes.
• The COVID-19 pandemic had a relatively significant impact on the MDMA market, due to the closure of recreational settings where MDMA is commonly used (leading to reduced demand). This was reflected in lower numbers of production facilities being dismantled in Europe, lower quantities of MDMA seized, and signals of a reduction in reported use of the drug. However, this trend now seems to be reversing, as MDMA production in the Netherlands appears to have returned to pre-pandemic levels, as have seizures of both ‘traditional’ MDMA precursors and designer precursor alternatives to PMK.
• MDMA is trafficked within the European Union by land, air and occasionally sea, using a range of methods, including parcel post. Some data suggest that most of the intra-EU MDMA trafficking occurs by land transport, which allows larger quantities to be transported compared with using mail or express couriers.
• MDMA is frequently traded online across a range of platforms, including darknet markets surface web and social media. Recently, social media platforms and instant messaging applications have become particularly dynamic channels through which MDMA is sold to consumers. Smaller quantities sold online are often dispatched in post and parcels from EU countries to consumer markets in Europe and globally.
• There is significant environmental damage linked to MDMA production. Depending on the method used, it is estimated that MDMA production in the European Union may have generated between 1 155 and 3 191 tonnes of chemical waste in 2021. Chemical waste products are typically dumped away from the production sites and often in neighbouring countries, resulting in health risks, environmental damage and high clean-up costs for contaminated sites. MDMA production is linked to a range of health and safety issues due to the risk of fires, explosions and exposure to toxic chemicals.
• The supply of precursors and essential chemicals plays a key role in MDMA production. A broad range of designer precursor alternatives to PMK are sourced by criminal networks for MDMA production in Europe, in an attempt to exploit potential loopholes in international control. Since 2013, seizures of designer precursors (predominantly glycidic derivatives of PMK) have surpassed those of PMK in Europe. Other chemicals needed for MDMA production such as catalysts and solvents are often sourced from EU Member States, including Germany and Poland.

Anticipating future threats

• Shift towards in production methods. Shortages of reaction vessels for the ‘high-pressure’ production method for MDMA associated with arrests of equipment makers (critical facilitators) in the Netherlands have triggered a shift towards other methods, such as the ‘cold method’ and the purchase of equipment from China. While this is an emerging phenomenon that is not yet well-documented, it can have serious consequences for the populations and the environment surrounding production areas. There is a considerable risk of explosions and accidents in production laboratories associated with the ‘cold method’ and the use of lower quality equipment.
• The expansion of MDMA trafficking to countries in Latin America requires enhanced monitoring. As Europe is a global supplier of MDMA, improvements in production capacity and efficiency may lead to larger quantities being trafficked internationally. There needs to be close monitoring of possible bartering of MDMA for cocaine by criminal networks in Europe and Latin America, particularly in the context of high availability of cocaine in Europe.
• Continued innovation in the use of precursors and developments in production techniques will remain a challenge for law enforcement, regulation and control. Over the past decade, several designer precursors have been introduced in the EU market, sometimes for only a limited amount of time. The use of designer precursors poses a key threat to authorities’ efforts to control the market. It is also important to monitor the possible emergence of enantiomerically pure MDMA on the market, given the pharmacological differences between MDMA enantiomers.