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News | 17-01-2024 | 09:30
In 2023, Dutch customs seized nearly 60,000 kg of cocaine. This is a significant increase compared to the more than 51,000 kg of cocaine seized in 2022. The largest seizures were made in the ports of Rotterdam and Vlissingen. At airports, customs seized more than twice as much cocaine.
Aukje de Vries, State Secretary for Welfare and Customs, said: “Drug traffickers will stop at nothing and use whatever means available. Therefore, we need to do everything we can to intercept drugs. We are working more closely with businesses and other countries in this regard. This helps customs intercept more drugs, which is a good thing. It hits criminals where it hurts and disrupts their perverse business model. This fight deserves our continued attention and investment.”
Cooperation with Belgium
The State Secretary and Belgian Finance Minister Vincent van Peteghem presented the latest drug figures in Vlissingen. Last year, Belgium seized a total of 116,000 kg of drugs. This is also an increase from the 109,000 kg seized the year before. Dutch and Belgian customs are working closely together to combat drug trafficking. The Dutch customs diving team is active in Antwerp and the two countries are also working together in Latin America. The two customs authorities are also working closely on automatic image recognition for scanning.
Trafficking through ports
Last year, customs seized more than 140 shipments of cocaine at the port. This number was about the same as the year before. The average weight of each shipment has increased. Customs also discovered the largest shipment of cocaine ever. This was a shipment of 8,000 kilograms of cocaine that was shipped from Ecuador to Rotterdam via Panama. The most frequent place to find drugs is in the cooling systems of containers. Customs officers also often find drugs hidden in the cargo or in the structure of the container.
In Rotterdam, customs has started scanning more containers. Compared to 2022, the number of scans has increased by 40%. At ports, Customs continues to innovate to stay one step ahead of criminals, in part by deploying underwater robots, smart cameras and drones, with the help of which Customs recently succeeded in intercepting drug smugglers riding in underwater propellers.
Trafficking via air cargo
The number of kilograms of cocaine seized in air cargo has also increased significantly. In 2023, Customs seized nearly 2,250 kilograms of cocaine at airports, compared to nearly 1,300 kilograms in 2022. Customs is also working more closely with the business community at airports. This includes sharing information on drug consignments.
Cooperation with Latin America
In contrast, the amount of drugs seized in Latin American countries destined for the Netherlands has fallen. In Brazil, the number of drug seizures destined for the Netherlands has fallen significantly. In recent years, Dutch Customs has strengthened its cooperation with Brazilian Customs. Last year, the two sides launched a pilot project to share scanned images. Dutch Customs has also strengthened cooperation with other countries, including with Ecuador, Panama and Costa Rica. Dutch Customs has also stationed liaison officers in various Latin American countries and signed customs treaties, including one with Ecuador. This will enable different customs departments to share more valuable BroadCast Unitedligence.
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