Tons of cocaine from South America are transported to Europe through major ports, with the port of Hamburg playing a central role in the drug supply scheme to Germany, Bild reports, UNN writes.
Details
While in 2019, according to official data, 9.5 tons of cocaine were found there, in 2023 this figure rose to almost 34 tons. This makes Hamburg the third most important port for drug cartels in Europe after Antwerp (Belgium) and Rotterdam (Netherlands) with 116 tons and 59 tons respectively.
At the same time, officials adhere to the unspoken rule that one kilogram of detected cocaine accounts for approximately nine kilograms of the drug, which eventually ends up on the European black market.
It is noted that the Hamburg authorities fear that the introduction of strict control in the port of Rotterdam will force cocaine suppliers to transport even larger volumes of drugs through the port of Hamburg.
In February 2021, the largest shipment of cocaine ever seized by law enforcement in Europe was made in the port of Hamburg. Customs officers found 16 tons of white powder hidden in shipping containers on a cargo ship from Paraguay.
Europe has already overtaken the United States as the world's largest cocaine market and is fast becoming a global center for drug trafficking. This is a very worrying development, and we must do more to reverse it,
Recall
Customs officers in Hamburg have discovered more than half a ton of cocaine hidden in a shipment of bananas from Ecuador and detained four suspects.