NEW YORK, June 27 (RT) - The UN Office on Drugs and Crime warned Wednesday that alternatives such as synthetic heroin substitute nitazene could bring a whole new challenge after the Taliban cracked down on opium production in 2022.

The banning of the opium poppy trade in Afghanistan cut global production of heroin’s key ingredient by 74% last year and could lead to addictions to stronger drugs such as fentanyl, the UNODC report claimed.