The Netherlands in the top three of countries where the most cocaine has been seized
March 7, 2024

The Netherlands is one of the three countries in Europe where the most cocaine has been seized in the past two years. This is stated in a report on the European drug market, which Europol made public on Thursday. It also states that young people who are tempted to become involved in organized drug crime must be offered alternatives.

by Joost van der Wegen

In 2021, a total of 303 tonnes of cocaine was seized by EU Member States. Most cocaine was intercepted in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. According to Europol, statistics show that the number of seizures will continue to increase in 2022.

The large quantities of the drug mainly enter Europe via the seaports in these three countries. This has led to the greatest availability of coke in Europe ever.

Corruption
Corruption and intimidation of port employees make cocaine smuggling possible, which mainly takes place via sea containers. According to Europol, corruption also penetrates other layers of society.

The cocaine market in Europe is dominated by criminal networks, which make enormous profits. Their trade is made possible by intermediaries and traders who work for them, with connections between them that often change in form. Serious violence in relation to the cocaine trade appears to be increasing in the places where it comes ashore, but it also affects society as a whole. According to the European police organization.

Labs
The report also mentions the Netherlands as a country where methamphetamine production takes place on an industrial scale. The exchange of knowledge between Dutch and Mexican producers has led to better quality and increased production of crystal meth. Mexican chefs are no longer often found in labs, because the Dutch have already adopted the knowledge. Europol warns that Mexican producers are also capable of illegally introducing fentanyl onto the market, as they have done in the US.

Tackle it
Europol recommends better monitoring of the drug market in Europe, freeing up more capacity to tackle large criminal organizations, and also recommends making it more difficult for criminals in an administrative sense. In addition, there must be more controls at the ports, and more prevention and warning programs must be introduced to prevent young people from being seduced into crime by criminal organizations.

The director of the European drug monitoring organization EMCDDA said in a commentary that Europe is at a crossroads with increasing violence from drug trafficking and will have to tackle drug crime in different ways. One such way is by offering alternatives to young people who may be tempted by criminal organizations .