The port of Rotterdam is flooded with cocaine. In record year 2018 that amounted to more than 18,000 kilos, this year more than 23,000 kilos have already been intercepted.
And then the ‘smuggling peak’ is not even achieved yet, writes De Telegraaf. Most of the coke is discovered in the last two months of the year. Last year, for example, the HARC team got around Christmas parties with a total weight of 4000 kilos from containers. The Rotterdam Public Prosecution Service only provides an overview at the end of the year, but says it recognizes itself in the figures.
Last weekend it hit the Rotterdam harbor again. Following a tip from the Criminal Intelligence Team (TCI), the police found a car on Friday night containing three men aged between 22 and 28. There were 300 kilos of cocaine in the vehicle.
THE SIXFOLD
The large quantities of the intercepted parties are striking. Fifteen times it involved 500 kilos or more. The biggest catch of the year dates from August. Then the Hit And Run Cargo team (HARC) of customs, OM, police and FIOD discovered a load of 3000 kilos, divided over two parties.
Throughout 2012, the HARC intercepted just under 4,000 pounds of cocaine. So far this year six times has been seized, with a street value of more than 1.2 billion. And that is only a small part of the actual amount of coke that goes through Rotterdam. The police estimate that only ten percent are intercepted. Criminal organizations themselves sometimes remove parties from the police as a diversion. While customs focuses on a particular party, a much larger one arrives somewhere else.
Throughout 2012, the HARC intercepted just under 4,000 pounds of cocaine. So far this year six times has been seized, with a street value of more than 1.2 billion. And that is only a small part of the actual amount of coke that goes through Rotterdam. The police estimate that only ten percent are intercepted. Criminal organizations themselves sometimes remove parties from the police as a diversion. While customs focuses on a particular party, a much larger one arrives somewhere else.
https://www.metronieuws.nl/in-het-nieuws/2019/11/al-ruim-23000-kilo-coke-onderschept-in-rotterdam