Freight insurer, TT Club, has warned of the exponential growth in contraband drugs entering Europe via ports on the Atlantic seaboard and called on the industry to ramp up its efforts to deter this trend of criminal activity. 

TT Club said in the past two months, since the beginning of April, yet more examples of criminal gangs utilising the complexity of European import trades to smuggle in drugs have continued to emerge.  

“Reports include cocaine in containers of fruit through the port of Antwerp; in Rotterdam, narcotics were discovered in reefer containers carrying melons from Panama; ecstasy with a value of €1.5 million in a truck at Calais and Le Havre emerging as a hotspot for cocaine imports; 133 kilos of marijuana and hashish at the Port of Motril in southern Spain brought in from North Africa, and news of smuggling gangs with links to Brazil operating in Lisbon and Oporto,” the insurer said.

Mike Yarwood, managing director Loss Prevention at TT Club, noted that these are just “fragments” of the evidence to point of the “crucial role ports” in fighting the illicit drug trade across Western Europe.

“110 tons of cocaine were seized at the port of Antwerp last year and much has been reported of how the city has become the European hub for drug importation.  But the network of channels for the trade is widespread and few ports along the seaboard can turn a blind eye to the problem,” Yarwood said.

Erica Bressner, BSI’s European Analyst noted that increasing awareness, particularly the role of European ports in drug smuggling is “crucial” to restricting this trade.

“Especially as indications show that smuggling at ports may be increasing for certain key narcotics, like cocaine. Europol has reported record-setting seizures of cocaine every year since 2017, particularly in seaports. This points to a growing market for the narcotic as cocaine becomes more affordable to the average consumer,” Bressner said.

“In response, European port authorities have worked to implement additional security measures to combat this trade and its concurrent violence. However, the control of the criminal syndicates is such that they have the ability to adapt their smuggling routes to evade authorities. This includes a diversification of smuggling routes to target non-traditional ports of entry where security measures are less intensive,” the BSI analyst added.

With the potentially enormous profits to be made within the drugs trade, funds to bribe port employees and others working in the transport infrastructure are readily available, according to TT Club, as it noted that customs officials and police officers are “not beyond corruption” amid the current levels of inflation and high living costs.

“Ports offer an attractive transfer point for drugs from sea going vessels and containers to trucks. These trucks leaving for the hinterland can contain contraband, often without the driver’s knowledge, and are hijacked, increasingly by heavily armed and brutal gangs,” the freight insurer added, noting that computer hacking is also becoming more prevalent to directly obtain information of a specific containers whereabouts or intended destinations.

More vigilance sought from ports

“Much more vigilance across European port communities is clearly required,” Yarwood said.

One strategy to deter such criminal activity in the port is through employee vetting and training both in terms of motivating them to be vigilant and loyal but also in terms of maintaining secure processes of documentation and online communication.

“Identifying the more common origin points of contraband cargo, such as South America and North Africa, and ‘rogue’ consignees and unexpected delivery points will help,” Yarwood added. “We are dealing with global crime syndicates.”

“Efforts to combat their activities will be akin to squeezing a half-inflated balloon, we may constrict them in one or two ports but they will find ways to exploit others.  We urge all in our industry then to be aware of the possibilities of drug importation and to take all steps they can to restrict this illicit trade,” Yarwood further said.