Belgium Europol: More and more cocaine smuggled into Europe

According to Europol analyses, cocaine smuggling to Europe continues to increase. The record levels of global cocaine production are also reflected in the huge quantities currently being seized in Europe, a Europol spokeswoman told the German Press Agency in The Hague. The violence associated with the trade is also increasing rapidly.

According to Europol, a good 70 percent of cocaine arrives in Europe via the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam in particular. At the same time, the gangs are increasingly targeting smaller ports in order to circumvent controls.

According to Europol, illegal drugs worth more than 31 billion euros are traded in the EU every year. Cannabis is the number one drug with around 12 billion euros, followed by cocaine with around 11.6 billion euros.

Last year, more than 300 tons of cocaine were seized in Europe's ports. In Antwerp alone, investigators seized a record 121 tons of cocaine in 2023 - around ten percent more than in the previous year. Around 60 tons were seized in the Netherlands. According to Europol's analysis, the individual quantities are also increasing. For example, the largest single quantity to date was seized in Rotterdam last year: around 8,000 kilograms of cocaine worth around 600 million in a container of bananas.

The successes of the drug investigators also showed that investigators had more and more insight into the working methods of the gangs, said the spokeswoman. The basis for this was, among other things, the cracking of criminal digital communication networks such as Encrochat. Europol recently identified the 821 most dangerous organized crime networks in the EU.

Europol also points to the increasing violence caused by cocaine smuggling. "The huge profits from cocaine trafficking have attracted many criminal networks in the EU to get involved," said the spokesperson. The competition is increasingly leading to violent confrontations. Europol is registering more murders, shootings, bomb attacks, kidnappings, torture and arsons.

SDA