Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, prides itself on its high cargo turnover, but it is struggling to cope with a spike in a less welcome import: cocaine.

Police intercepted a record of nearly 70 tonnes of the drug in 2021, an increase of 74 percent from 2020, according to customs officers at the port.

Considering its high turnover, Rotterdam, alongside Antwerp in neighboring Belgium, was the main entry point for a Dubai-based "super cartel" that Europol broke up last month which had been supplying a third of Europe's cocaine.

It is usually hidden in containers or under ships in openings just below the water line, from where it can be recovered by divers. But why are officials suddenly finding so much more of the drug?

Ger Scheringa, who leads a team of armed customs officers at the port, says the reason for the spike in seizures is a "delicate question."

"It seems there are lots of buyers," in Europe, he says. "And if there is demand, it is supplied."

He says Rotterdam authorities have also increased custom checks in a bid to stop the cocaine making its way into Europe, but he admits that he "doesn't know if there is really a solution to the problem" as long as people keep taking the drug.

 

'Drowning in cocaine'

Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has decried the fact that his city is "drowning in cocaine" – taking aim at the violence associated with the international drug trade.

He has even gone so far as to call for port authorities to scan all containers arriving from Latin America.

However, Scheringa says the "biggest challenge is to find a good balance between the speed of logistics for the port, and checking everything you want."

With tens of thousands of containers piling up at multiple terminals, investigators regularly struggle to mark the location of the smuggled drugs.

"It really is a question of finding a needle in a haystack," says Romilda Schaaf, a drugs specialist for the port police.

And even if the authorities do hone in on the drugs, cartels have ways to get around detection.

 

How do they get the drugs through customs?

Gangs are adept at sidestepping such checks, using sophisticated methods to get the drugs past authorities. According to prosecutors, smugglers can spend several nights in "container hotels" set up with food and blankets, close to where a cocaine-laden container is expected to land.

Once the drugs arrive at their location, the smugglers then move them to different containers so they are less likely to be checked.

Besides outsiders camping out, cartels often rely on inside information, according to port police officer Schaaf. Dockers and officials can be offered up to $100,000 to help get big loads through.

Only this month, a 43-year-old female officer from Rotterdam was arrested over allegations of corruption and involvement in drug trafficking. Rotterdam customs officials say more than 70 people have been arrested for trafficking-related offences at the port just this year. Unsurprisingly, several have been port officials. 

 

How can the flow be stopped?

The port authorities say the best way to tackle the drug's flow through Rotterdam is to continue cracking down on internal corruption and to carry out more checks, but also create better contacts with "source" countries of the cocaine.

Containers can often be flagged because of information provided from abroad, then scanned, unpacked and searched with sniffer dogs. 

But with high-profile news stories of violence linked to the cocaine trade in the Netherlands, there are ever louder calls for something to be done about the drugs trade.

A famous Dutch journalist and a lawyer who were involved in the trial of an alleged drug lord were assassinated in 2019 and 2021, sending shockwaves through the country and putting more pressure on authorities to crack down.

"The aim is really to assure people that they can live in safety, and that no politician, lawyer or crime reporter should have to be under protection because this junk is coming into our country," said Schaaf.