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Eeuropean ports It’s a drug hub. On February 16, Cork Port seized meth worth €32.8 million. Antwerp, one of Europe’s major drug distribution hubs, seized a record amount of cocaine last year. However, most drugs escape customs and end up on the streets. More than a quarter of all illegal firearm seizures and more than half of all homicides. european union Involved in drug trafficking. The bloc’s illicit drug market is now thought to be worth at least 31 billion euros a year, the newspaper said. european union‘s leading drug watchdog.
Ports are relatively safe terrain for drugs. Huge amounts of container transportation make dangerous deliveries less noticeable. Antwerp is her second largest port in Europe after Rotterdam, handling around 290 million tons of cargo annually. When drugs are hidden in clever places, such as inside frozen tuna or sea chests, they are difficult to find. Refrigerated containers carrying perishable food that needs faster processing are popular with smugglers as a place to stash drugs. On February 8, Southampton port authorities seized 5.7 tonnes of cocaine in a shipment of bananas from South America. This was the largest seizure of Class A drugs in history. England‘s history.
With cocaine production increasing in South America and retail prices in Europe stagnant, traffickers appear to be favoring larger shipments. This may explain why the amount of cocaine seized in Europe has increased since 2019, even though the number of individual seizures has fallen, says Cathy of the Royal United Services Institute.・Mr. Henline says (Luci), a London think tank. On the other hand, increasing levels of automation and digitalization in large ports are paradoxically facilitating new security breaches exploited by gangs. More and more people are stealing container reference codes in order to rob shipments of smuggled cocaine. Europol says corrupt workers can receive up to 15% of the drug’s value in return for their help. Some people are threatened.
As scammers become more sophisticated, authorities are desperately trying to keep up. The use of drones is becoming increasingly popular among drug fighters in Europe. They use thermal cameras to monitor gang members receiving packages and to track suspicious movements of packages. Antwerp became the first major port to use autonomous drones in May and also pledged to scan all high-risk containers by 2028. Shipping companies are rushing to upgrade their fleets with new technologies such as steam screening sensors, smart containers and electronics. sticker. In January, european union Launched the European Ports Alliance to strengthen cooperation between ports, governments and private companies. Around 200 million euros ($217 billion) will be spent on new container scanning equipment.
However, Europe continues to fight a losing battle. Scanning is not effective due to the sheer number of containers passing through ports. Only 10% of containers from South America and his 1.5% of total containers are inspected in Europe. Beyond that, trade will likely be delayed. Also, when one door closes, another tends to open. Medium-sized ports such as Helsingborg in Sweden and Malaga in Spain are already seeing an increase in drug traffic, thanks to increased security in Rotterdam and other established drug hubs.
Corruption is difficult to eradicate. The vetting process is of little importance compared to the threat of violence. Many international criminal networks employ locally embedded coordinators. Considering the returns you get, it’s well worth the investment. “They know the area well, they know the people well,” says Lewis Boler of the consultancy Risk Intelligence.
what will you do? Better information sharing across Europe would help. But gaps remain. Greece’s Piraeus port has already been barred from a new port alliance due to allegations against its Chinese owners. This bodes badly for European ports, where foreign companies hold a majority stake.
Not surprisingly, European authorities are stepping up efforts further up the supply chain.of european union In 2019, we began a new phase with the establishment of a global illegal immigration program. Sea Cop, started its cooperation project in January. International efforts are already bearing fruit. Approximately €48 million worth of cocaine-related properties in Spain and Ecuador were frozen in February following a joint investigation with Europol. (Ecuador agreed to share more data with Europol last May.) But Ecuador is still plagued by drug cartels. Violence broke out there in January. As long as demand in Europe continues to surge, this trend will continue unabated. This year is another bumper year for scammers. ■
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