Last year, 45,506 kilos of cocaine were intercepted in the port of Rotterdam, almost the same amount as last year. This is evident from annual figures from the Hit and Run Cargo team (HARC team), a partnership between police, customs, FIOD and the Public Prosecution Service.
Because the cocaine seizure in Vlissingen almost tripled to 11,500 kilos and there was also an increase in seized cocaine at the airports, the total cocaine seized at the Dutch external borders amounts to almost 60,000 kilos, good for a street value of around 4.5 billion euros.
Most seized cocaine is shipped from Ecuador. As a distribution country, the Netherlands plays a central role in the European cocaine trade. Drug criminals use the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp to import cocaine on a large scale and then distribute it further via the Netherlands.
Antwerp
Simultaneously with the Dutch seizure figures, Belgian customs announced that a record quantity of 116,000 kilos of cocaine had been seized in the port of Antwerp. This means that in 2023 there will be a joint Dutch/Belgian record catch of more than 175,000 kilos: an amount that is more than 2.5 times higher than five years ago.
“There has been an increase in seizures in all European ports, while in Rotterdam there has been a significant break in the trend. That is why we think we are on the right track,” says head of the Seaport Police Jan Janse when asked. In 2021, around 70,000 kilos were found in Rotterdam, while in the past two years this was around 45,000 kilos. Together with the Public Prosecution Service, he mentions the expansion of the HARC team, cooperation with port companies and the use of technological tools such as drones and cameras.
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452 perpetrators arrested
Last year, 452 collectors were arrested at the Rotterdam port site: a significant increase compared to a year earlier, when there were 251. These extractors move cocaine that has arrived in a container from Latin America – and is awaiting customs control – to a 'safe' container that can then leave the port site unchecked. There were 64 minors among these perpetrators. Three-quarters of the arrested offenders were first offender and has not previously been arrested as an offender.
According to Rotterdam chief public prosecutor Hugo Hillenaar, a possible explanation for this high percentage lies in the case law of the Hague court. A special law on offenders has been in force since 2022, which means that offenders can now be sentenced to one year in prison instead of a small fine. However, the Hague Court of Appeal's line is that first offenders receive community service. “It may be that criminal organizations deliberately send first offenders.”
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