Big Drop In Drug Seizures At Belgium Mega Port As Latam Busts Soar
Muhammad Irfan Published January 09, 2025 | 02:10 PM
Antwerp, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jan, 2025) Belgian authorities seized almost two-thirds less cocaine at the port of Antwerp last year than in 2023 -- a dramatic drop officials credited Thursday to better checks in Latin America.
Belgium's customs agency said it seized 44 tonnes of the drug in 2024 at what is considered one of the main gateways for narcotics entering Europe, down from a record 116 tonnes the year before.
It was the first decline in seizures in more than a decade, said the agency's boss, Kristian Vanderwaeren.
Europe's second largest port had gotten used to breaking records in recent years, with the amounts of cocaine found hidden in containers carrying bananas, coffee and other goods exponentially increasing since 2013.
But things changed last year with a jump in drug busts at Latin American ports, Vanderwaeren said.
More than 80 tonnes of cocaine bound for the Belgian port were intercepted ahead of shipping in 2024, up from 45 tonnes in 2023, according to customs figures unveiled at a press conference.
Vanderwaeren credited Ecuador for much of the improvement.
"Since the government said 'stop' and called on the army to crack down on criminal networks, cocaine shipments have decreased," he told AFP.
Costa Rica and Peru also took measures to tackle cocaine smuggling, he added.
- Ecuador crackdown -
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa in January last year declared "war" on transnational cartels using the country's ports to ship cocaine to the United States and Europe.
Sandwiched between Colombia and Peru -- the world's top cocaine producers -- Ecuador has seen violence explode in recent years as rival gangs with links to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control.
Despite the crackdown, Ecuador is still the top country of origin for cocaine arriving in Antwerp, customs said.
Belgian customs officers are now recording "many small seizures and few large ones", as traffickers splinter their shipments to lower the risk of being caught, said Vanderwaeren.
Authorities carried out 136 seizures in 2024 up from 124 the year before, but only two involved more than two tonnes of cocaine, down from 13 in 2023.
Meanwhile drug busts at Brussels' main airport were up more than five-fold last year, with an increasing number of passengers found attempting to smuggle cocaine in their luggage -- representing more than a tonne in total.
Besides Ecuador, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Colombia also featured in the customs agency top five list of cocaine shipping countries.
Second place was surprisingly held by Sierra Leone, after six tonnes of the drug coming from the West African nation were seized in a single bust.
This highlighted Africa's growing role as a transit hub in the drug trade, according to the agency.
