Drug Traffickers Producing More Cocaine in Europe: EU Report

Some cocaine production has shifted from Latin America to Europe, as criminal groups explore new trafficking methods and authorities boost transatlantic cooperation, according to the latest EU drug report.

Both drug seizures and drug use keep increasing in Europe, according to findings published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) on June 11. 

“While seizures are up, purity remains high, and prices are stable, showing that huge amounts of cocaine are available,” Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, said during the launch of the drug report.

Cocaine Production Expands in Europe

Traditionally, traffickers turned coca into cocaine hydrochloride in South America and then exported the final product to Europe. But now, they increasingly export intermediate substances like coca paste and cocaine base for final processing across the Atlantic.

“We always saw the cocaine processing laboratories on a small scale, but now we see them on quite a large scale,” Andrew Cunningham, head of markets, crime, and supply reduction at the EMCDDA told InSight Crime in January 2024.

A series of busts of laboratories in European countries has underscored the shift. In November 2023, Portugal’s Judicial Police dismantled a laboratory equipped to transform coca paste into over 100 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride a week. Several months earlier, Spanish authorities dismantledone of the largest coca paste processing laboratories ever found in Europe, with an estimated production of 200 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride per day.

SEE ALSO: Portugal Drug Lab Bust Reveals Beginnings of Cocaine Production

Smuggling the cheaper coca paste or cocaine base limits losses if a shipment is intercepted. The report also suggested traffickers may be shifting more final production to Europe due to chemical shortages in Latin America and “the economic advantage of controlling the final stages of the production process in Europe.”

Innovation, Corruption Keep Traffickers in Business

Traffickers import most cocaine into Europe through maritime container ports. As ports step up their security, traffickers are seeking to stay a step ahead of the authorities, the report found. 

To avoid detection, traffickers conceal cocaine hydrochloride in an expanding variety of legal materials and then chemically extract it once the goods pass security controls. One of the newest methods is to hide the drugs in coconut water. Colombian police seized 176 kilograms of cocaine destined for Spain on June 11 that was camouflaged this way.

Trafficking groups are also increasingly targeting key actors in the law enforcement and commercial sectors for corruption and intimidation, the report found.

SEE ALSO: Police Corruption Jeopardizes Drug Trafficking Trial in Spain

“There is growing recognition of the need to do more to counter the violence, corruption, and criminal exploitation practices,” the report said. 

In one recent emblematic case, a Spanish police liaison stationed in Colombia allegedly led a criminal network that moved cocaine shipments from Colombia to Spain. The official is yet to appear in court due to purported health problems.

Increased Cooperation With Latin American Partners 

European Union (EU) policymakers are bolstering cooperation with their Latin American counterparts to try to combat the increase in cocaine trafficking, the report noted. 

To do so, the EU is concluding negotiations on international judicial cooperation agreements with Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia and has started negotiating agreements on exchanging personal data between Europol and Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. 

“We are tightening the net,” Johansson claimed during the launch. 

However, so far, the measures that have been taken have not had a significant impact. Better controls have made crime groups adapt rather than lowering the cocaine supply in Europe, the report acknowledges.

Article Credit: https://insightcrime.org/news/drug-traffickers-producing-more-cocaine-in-europe-eu-report/