8000 Kg of Cocaine Seized in Rotterdam

Padmesh Prabhune

In one of the largest case of drug trafficking customs officials in Rotterdam have seized a shipment of more than 8,000 kg of cocaine worth €600 million ($661 million) concealed in a container of banana pallets.

In a report, the Dutch prosecutors said, “It is the largest seizure on record in the port.” A spokesperson said the drugs had travelled from Ecuador via the Panama Canal to Rotterdam before sniffer dogs found them in a container check on July 13.

The seizure had been kept secret to assist in the investigation, which is continuing. No arrests in the case have been made in the Netherlands. “Once again we have succeeded… in dealing a serious blow to the port’s drug traffickers,” Rotterdam Customs Director Peter van Buijtenen said. He called the haul ‘enormous.’

This is the biggest haul ever recorded at the port and it seems Rotterdam is one of the main ports for drug traffickers bringing the drug to Europe. The last biggest was a 4,500-kilogram haul made in 2020. Another major seizure was made in 2021, when 3,600 kilograms of the drug was found.

In the first half of 2023, Dutch customs seized about 29,702 kilograms of drugs, which is more than in the same period last year (a little over 22,000 kilograms).

The Netherlands, Belgium and Spain are the top three European countries for illegal cocaine imports. Most of the drug is shipped out from Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador.

-Marex Media