The Netherlands authorities prevented drugs with a street value of €917 million ($955m) from being trafficked through the Port of Rotterdam and the country’s other sea ports in 2024.
Dutch officials highlighted the progress the country had made in intercepting drug smuggling in a joint report released by customs, seaport police, and special law enforcement units.
According to the report, specialised units worked closely with the shipping industry to seize narcotics with a wholesale value of €917 million ($955m), marking significant progress in combating smuggling.
Units such as the ‘Hit and Run Cargo’ team focused on seizing drugs and arrests, while other teams have been working daily to disrupt the modus operandi of smugglers. Teams are also working to identify and arrest corrupt port officials, using digital surveillance based on big data, and front companies have been uncovered and shut down.
The report noted a trend where smugglers were shipping a larger sum of smaller consignments in a bid to spread the risk of detection. Officials seized 189 consignments in Rotterdam, 115 of which were under 100kg.
The total mass of cocaine seized in Rotterdam dropped by more than 40% to 25 900kg, from 45 506kg in 2023, a peak year. The largest consignment seized weighed 3 628kg. However, more cannabis was intercepted (1 037kg) than in 2023 (9 864kg). Other drugs seized at the country’s ports included hashish and crystal meth.
“With the decline in cocaine seizures in the Port of Rotterdam, barriers that have been put in place seem to be paying off. However, there is no reason to cheer. Persistent problems are the order of the day,” the report noted.
Cocaine seizures in the Zeeland-West-Brabant region rose to 12 664kg compared with 11 300kg in 2023. A total of 3 097kg was intercepted in Moerdijk, and in Vlissingen officials detected 3 630kg of the drug packed in a banana consignment.
According to the report, smugglers commonly use fruit consignments to hide their illicit cargo but they also hide drugs in shipments of scrap metal and wood and alcohol.
“The most striking drug shipment was discovered in the port of Moerdijk,” according to the report. “Almost 3 100kg of cocaine, divided into thousands of separate packages, were hidden in a telescopic crane from South America. It took the investigation services hours to remove the drugs,” the report noted.
