A shipment of cocaine worth over a hundred million euros was discovered at the Rotterdam port on Wednesday night. Customs officials found 1,400 kilograms of the drug hidden in a sea container loaded with cocoa.
The shipment originated in Colombia. ”The cargo was destined for a company in France,” said the Rotterdam office of the Public Prosecution Service (OM).
Europol said in August that The Netherlands, along with Belgium, has become a primary hub for smuggling cocaine into Europe. Police have increasingly found criminal suspects sneaking on to port property to recover drugs hidden in various consignments.
Femke Halsema, the mayor of Amsterdam, advocated targetting those who facilitate drug trafficking, and not just intercepting drug shipments. ”We always put a lot of focus on the kilograms and the tough guys, but behind them are networks involving serious criminals, who are often backed by a network of accountants, real estate agents, middlemen and, sometimes, also lawyers,” she said on Nieuwsuur earlier in September.