A public prosecutor of the Rotterdam Public Prosecution Service says it is 'crazy' to have the ambition to win the drug war. That statement is somewhat in contrast to the usually ambitious language of Minister of Justice and Security Ferd Grapperhaus and the prosecutors of the national prosecutor's office who fight internationally operating drug organizations. Public Prosecutor Ernst Pols says in conversation with NU.nl that he has no idea what the effectiveness is of the police action against the international cocaine trade.

63 tons
The number of kilograms of cocaine seized in Rotterdam has risen for the fourth year in a row and will again reach a record this year. In 2018, more than 22,000 kilos were found, this year the counter is now at about 63,000 kilos. The drug organization UNODC (of the United Nations) estimates that now more than half of the cocaine imported to the European continent comes through the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, with Spain as a good second import port.

At the same time, it is clear that production in Peru and Colombia has been increasing in recent years. Officer Ernst Pols says he has no idea whether that increase can be directly related to the increase in seizures in Rotterdam. Pols: 'What we don't know, we don't know and there's quite a bit we don't know.'

By comparison, a record 505 tons of cocaine was seized in Colombia in 2020. About 100 tons were packed there this year.