ISLAMABAD: A United Nations-backed international warning system has blocked a shipment of chemicals used to make fentanyl, the International Nar­cotics Control Board (INCB) revealed in its annual report.

The shipment could have produced up to 1.6 billion potentially lethal doses.

The “Pre-Export Notif­ication Online” (PEN), developed by INCB, was used in March last year to prevent the diversion of three tons of a fentanyl precursor which was only scheduled in the 1988 Convention in December 2024. If the shipment had not been stopped, it could have been used to illicitly manufacture an estimated 1.4 to 3.3 tons of fentanyl, the INCB said in a statement.

In its annual report published on Thursday, the INCB said

“the interception highlights the vital role of cooperation in tackling the rapidly evolving illegal drugs trade”.

The INCB is an independent, quasi-judicial body established under the 1961 UN Convention on Narcotics Drugs.

The INCB’s online PICS platform boosts real time communication and information sharing bet­ween governments on inci­dents concerning illicit laboratories, precursors and related equi­pment.

The International Import and Export Authorisation System (I2ES) allows countries to securely exchange electronic import and export authorisations for narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, eliminating the need for physical documents which reduces the risk of fraudulent authorisations.

According to INCB, the authorities used its pre-export notification platform to stop the diversion of three tons of the precursor 1-boc-4-piperidone – a chemical intermediary used in the manufacture of fentanyl.

Had the shipment not been intercepted, it could have been used to manufacture an estimated 1.4 to 3.3 tons of fentanyl – between 700 million and 1.6 billion doses of the deadly street drug.

The case, in March last year, is one of several examples cited by the INCB to illustrate what it dubbed an “international success story” in terms of cooperation, the INCB’s chief, Prof Sevil Atasoy, said while releasing the annual report in Vienna.

Pre-export notification

Last year alone, more than 190 countries and territories cooperated through the online pre-export notification (PEN) platform, monitoring over 34,000 planned shipments of internationally controlled drug precursors.

INCB emphasised that close cooperation is also needed with private sector manufacturers, imp­orters, exporters, wholesalers and retailers in the chemical industry for an effective precursor control system.

More than 100 global companies in 19 different sectors regularly share information on emerging synthetic drugs and chemicals with governments through the GRIDS programme.

In addition, INCB encourages public-private partnerships with key sectors that are exploited by drug traffickers such as e-commerce, social media, marketing, payment and financial services.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2026