The two ports, and especially that of Antwerp, have become a hub for drug trafficking from South America.
By Le Figaro with AFP
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Five of the world’s leading container ship owners operating in the ports of Antwerp in Belgium and Rotterdam in the Netherlands pledged on Friday 17 February to collaborate with the Belgian and Dutch authorities in their fight once morest “the drug mafia».
The directors of the shipping companies MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag Lloyd and Seatrade have signed a “Declaration on the fight once morest organized cross-border drug crimeby which they undertake to secure and trace their containers, the Belgian and Dutch justice ministries announced in a press release.
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Prevent the introduction of drugs into containers
The epicenter of cocaine trafficking in Europe is in Antwerp and around the gigantic cargo port, the second largest in Europe following Rotterdam. In 2022, Belgian customs seized nearly 110 tonnes of cocaine in this port, a new record.
«The multiplicity of activities, the transit of millions of containers, the tens of thousands of people employed and their cross-border nature make them vulnerable to infiltration and abuse by the drug mafia. This vulnerability is exploited to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking“, underline the two ministers in their press release.
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The five shipowners mustgradually accelerate the introduction of a system of containers and smart container seals” for the “high risk cargo“. The objective is to prevent the opening and movement of a container without control. Access to container information will be additionally protected with the possibility of digital encryption. Shipping companies have also undertaken to monitor the integrity of their personnel via their recruitment and human resources policies.
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Cocaine from South America is usually concealed in containers of fruit or other foodstuffs shipped from that continent. Since the end of 2022, two events have reinforced the sense of urgency to better fight once morest this “mafia”: the planned kidnapping and threats targeting Minister Van Quickenborne, as well as the death of an eleven-year-old girl in January in Antwerp. She was the victim of a bullet which pierced the facade of her house during a settling of scores between traffickers.