A cocaine deluge has taken over Europe's biggest port

Huge amounts of cocaine hidden in containers and sometimes even under the ships is making its way into Europe's largest port, Rotterdam. In 2021, nearly 70 tonnes of the drug was intercepted, up 74 per cent from a year before, Ger Scheringa, who leads a team of armed customs officers at the port, said.

A Dubai-based "super cartel" supplies a third of Europe's cocaine through Rotterdam and Antwerp in Belgium, which Europol said it busted last month.

Scheringa told AFP that the jump in cocaine supply and the consequent seizures boils down to the demand. "It seems there are lots of buyers (in Europe). And if there is demand, it is supplied," he said.

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In order to stop the white powder from entering Europe, Rotterdam has stepped up customs checks, Scheringa said. However, he doesn't expect Rotterdam's record for seizures to be beaten in 2022. He confessed that the solution to the problem is nowhere in sight as long as people keep taking cocaine.

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Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said the port city is "drowning in cocaine". He condemned the violence that accompanies the drug trade and wants port authorities to scan all containers arriving from Latin America.

But Scheringa says the "biggest challenge is to find a good balance between the speed of logistics for the port, and checking everything you want".

Sophisticated methods are deployed by gangs to first send the cocaine through Rotterdam and then recover it once inside, Romilda Schaaf, a drugs specialist for the port police, said.

Since tens of thousands of containers pile up at multiple terminals, it is impossible to find the smuggled drugs, unless they have specific information. "It really is a question of finding a needle in a haystack," she told AFP.

More than 70 people have been held so far this year for trafficking-related offences in the port, said Scheringa, including gang members and even port employees. Dockers and officials receive up to 100,000 euros to help get big batches through, Scheringa said.

On December 6, a 43-year-old female officer from Rotterdam was arrested over allegations of corruption and involvement in drug trafficking.

It's easy money, said Schaaf, but "if you say yes once, you can't say no... (so) don't start in the first place!"

Dutch customs officers say good contacts with "source" countries can help control the flood of cocaine. Besides, efforts are needed to tackle corrupt port employees, apart from more checks.

The automation of some parts of the port, and therefore the elimination of the human factor, has also helped to curb corruption, according to two officials.

Meanwhile, violence linked to the cocaine trade has also reached the Dutch society.

A famous Dutch journalist and a lawyer involved in the trial of an alleged drug lord were assassinated in 2019 and 2021.

"The aim is really to assure people that they can live in safety, and that no politician, lawyer or crime reporter should have to be under protection because this junk is coming into our country," said Schaaf.

(With inputs from agencies)

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