More than 700 kilos of cocaine seized in one week in the port of Rotterdam

Dutch officials have made a series of cocaine seizures totaling more than 700 kilos, all of which came through the port of Rotterdam in just a few days. Police say they believe the intended recipient of the containers was not involved in the smuggling, but rather was part of an attempt by drug cartels to use legitimate shipments to smuggle narcotics.

The seizures came as major European ports and governments made a concerted effort to disrupt the flow of cocaine and other illegal drugs. International police have warned that drug gangs have infiltrated European port operations and are becoming more aggressive in their smuggling tactics.

The largest haul was 514 kilos of cocaine, found in a shipment of avocados. The containers originated in Peru and travelled via Panama to Rotterdam. A second shipment of avocados, which followed the same route but was destined for another company in the Netherlands, turned out to contain a hidden shipment of cocaine. In this second seizure, 100 kilos of cocaine were found.

Police reported these two seizures on August 14th and two days later another cocaine was discovered. This time they were doing a routine check on an empty container and found 39 kilos of cocaine in the construction of the container. The refer box had been used to transport bananas from Ecuador.

The next day, August 17, the police reported another seizure. Again, during a regular inspection of a refer box with bananas, cocaine was found. This shipment came from Costa Rica and was found to contain 60 kilos of cocaine.

The four interceptions totaled 712 kilos of cocaine. Police estimate the estimated street value at approximately €53.5 million ($59.5 million).

In each case, it appeared that the importer had nothing to do with the smuggling. However, the cartels prefer to use refrigerated boxes for their smuggling. Earlier in August, Greek authorities reported finding 34 kilos of cocaine, also in a shipment of bananas. A year ago, Dutch authorities reported their largest single seizure, totaling more than 8,000 kilos in 12 pallets of bananas, and that same month, Spanish authorities reported their largest seizure of almost 9,500 kilos of cocaine, also in a shipment of bananas.

Belgian authorities reported seizing 116 tons of cocaine in Antwerp in 2023, up from 110 tons in 2022. They used the information to call for additional measures by the European Union and police in a coordinated effort to stop the flow of cocaine and other drugs through Europe’s major ports.