Synthetic opioids represent the most significant threat in the ongoing battle against illegal drugs, with one specific type, nitazenes, linked to 1,000 deaths across the UK in just two-and-a-half years. This stark warning comes from Graeme Biggar, Director General of the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Speaking at the unveiling of the NCA’s annual national strategic assessment, Mr Biggar described the death toll as "extraordinary". He elaborated: "Synthetic opioids pose the biggest risk. Since nitazenes first appeared at scale in the UK in June 2023, they have been connected to 1,000 deaths. This is an extraordinary figure."
While the number of fatalities saw a slight decrease in 2025, UK law enforcement remains vigilant, striving to avert a crisis similar to the surge in deaths witnessed in North America.
Mr Biggar focused on drugs, organised immigration crime, and crime online in a speech at the NCA’s new headquarters in Stratford, east London.
In Britain, half of homicides, thefts and robberies are linked to drugs, the NCA chief said.
Mr Biggar added: “While we need to respond to a range of new challenges, we cannot take our eyes off the drug threat.
“It has always caused a lot of harm, it is evolving fast, and we need to stay on top of it.”
Investigators have seen heroin being cut with synthetic opioids, making it more dangerous, and also an increase in ketamine use.
The number of adults needing medical treatment after using the drug has increased tenfold in 10 years, while the number of under-18s has tripled in three years.
The threat from organised crime grew last year as technology allows criminals to “get smarter, faster and more connected, to each other and to victims”, Mr Biggar said, and developments in technology are “reshaping crime itself”.
Recent cyber attacks on Transport for London, the Legal Aid Agency, Marks and Spencer, the Co-op, Kido Nurseries and Jaguar Land Rover have shown that it is not enough for businesses to secure their systems, but they also need to address how staff can be manipulated, he told audience members.
The number of referrals from technology companies reporting child abuse rose to 2,000 per week this year, with 92,000 received in 2025, up nearly a third in two years.
Turning to illegal migration, Mr Biggar said the conflict in Iran is likely to increase the number of people trying to enter Britain.
In 2025 the Horn of Africa was the main source of migrants, replacing Vietnam and Albania.
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