Europeans spend 24 billion euros on narcotics each year: report
European Union citizens spend some 24 billion euros ($27.28 billion) on illicit drugs every year, a report said on Tuesday, making it one of the continent’s most profitable activities for organized crime groups. The report, drawn up by Europol and European Union drugs monitoring center EMCDDA, said the advent of new technology such as encrypted networks and digital currencies had opened a new market for the online supply of drugs. “Illicit drug production and trafficking remains one of the largest and most innovative criminal markets in Europe,” Europol director Rob Wainwright said in a statement.