Romanian man jumped on cars in Zagreb: tested for 10 drugs, fentanyl ruled out
A 27-year-old Romanian caused chaos in New Zagreb by jumping on car roofs. He was tested for 10 drugs, all negative – and fentanyl has not yet been confirmed in the Croatian illegal market.
Chaos in New Zagreb: what lies behind the bizarre behaviour of Romanian at crossroads
At the intersection of Većeslava Holjevca Avenue and Damira Tomljanovića Street in New Zagreb, a 27-year-old Romanian national recently jumped on the roofs of parked and moving cars, according to 24sata. He damaged four vehicles, breaking the windscreen on one, after which intervention police took him to a psychiatric facility.
The incident immediately raised the question of whether the so-called zombie drug fentanyl had finally reached Croatia.
Tested for 10 drugs – all negative
According to 24sata's findings, the Romanian was tested at the psychiatric facility for ten different drugs and tested negative for all of them. He was not specifically tested for fentanyl because the facility did not have the appropriate test upon admission, nor did he display signs that would have justified subsequent testing for that substance.
The incident was not isolated. In a short time span, Zagreb readers filmed a naked woman wandering the road confused, a naked man, and a woman who for no apparent reason was picking up stones and throwing them at cars. All of this prompted speculation about a possible presence of fentanyl.
Experts: fentanyl is a "downer", does not cause raging
Prim. dr. sc. Ivan Ćelić, psychiatry specialist and head of the Department for Dual Disorders at the Clinic for Psychiatry Vrapče, explains the key difference between street and medical fentanyl.
"With street fentanyl you never know what you are buying and in what doses, whereas with medical fentanyl the doses are known and it is clear who it may be given to. If it escapes the system, it can fall into the wrong hands. For example, if a grandmother is given fentanyl for severe pain in patches, a grandchild could get hold of it," says Ćelić.
He adds that fentanyl acts as a "downer" – a person who takes it freezes, takes a few steps, then stops again in a bent position. In contrast, cocaine, speed and synthetic drugs such as monkey dust "lift" a person – they cause it to rage, jump and run. The behaviour recorded in New Zagreb by description fits more with the latter profile.
Street fentanyl in Croatia has not yet been seized
According to available official data, in the Republic of Croatia over the past one to two years there have been no confirmed cases of the presence of fentanyl or other new synthetic opioids on the illegal drug market. Neither police nor customs have seized street fentanyl to date. In previous years, only sporadic isolated cases were recorded, but in the more recent period such findings have not been confirmed.
Croatia is nonetheless not immune to the risk. Experts warn of the possibility of fentanyl appearing as an adulterant in cocaine, which has already been recorded in some European countries. Medical fentanyl, which is legally used in severely ill patients – for example in the terminal phase of cancer – is occasionally taken by heroin addicts, but the street form has not been recorded to date.
According to data from the Report on Persons Treated for Psychoactive Substance Abuse, fentanyl as the primary substance of dependence in Croatia has been recorded in only a few cases: two persons in treatment in 2024, one in 2023 and three in 2020.
EU records 153 deaths, Croatia without available data
At the level of the European Union, the situation is more complex. Data from 16 member states show that the number of deaths associated with fentanyl and its derivatives remained relatively stable – in 2023, 153 such cases were recorded, compared with 159 in 2022.
The highest number of deaths in 2023 was registered in Germany (70), followed by Sweden (15), Denmark (10), Austria (7), Estonia (7) and Finland (6). Some of these cases could be linked to medical fentanyl that reached the illegal market rather than illegally produced fentanyl. For the Republic of Croatia, official data on deaths associated with fentanyl are not available.
The European Drug Report for 2025 notes that potent synthetic opioids such as fentanyl derivatives and nitazenes group opioids have already been associated with a number of fatal and non-fatal poisonings in Europe, although they are not currently widely represented in routine EU-level data.
Seizures of precursors in Spain and the Netherlands, local production possible
In late 2024, four seizures of fentanyl precursors – N-boc-4-piperidone – were recorded in Spain and the Netherlands, which experts interpret as an indicator of possible development of local production within the EU in the future. According to available data, such production in member states is currently limited.
China has been identified as one of the global sources of fentanyl and its derivatives. After introducing a generic ban on fentanyl derivatives, the number of new derivatives discovered on the European market decreased significantly.
Croatia strengthens preparedness
Given developments in the EU and the emergence of highly potent synthetic opioids, activities are being carried out in Croatia aimed at strengthening preparedness and taking timely action in the event of a possible appearance of such substances. The Croatian Institute of Public Health in 2025 printed posters with safety recommendations for workers who may come into contact with fentanyl, as well as leaflets with guidelines for users at risk.
Source: 24sata