They attribute the improvement of the situation to anti-drug operations in Latin American ports.
Belgian authorities announced on Thursday that they seized 44 tons of cocaine in 2024, which is almost two-thirds less than the previous year. They attribute the improvement of the situation to anti-drug operations in Latin American ports. TASR writes based on a report by AFP and Belga.
According to Kristian Vanderwaeren, director of the Belgian customs administration, this is the first decrease in more than a decade. Last year, according to the Belga agency, the authorities seized more than 121 tons of cocaine.
The main credit for the decline goes to tougher anti-drug measures in Ecuador, Peru and Costa Rica
Customs authorities in Latin America seized significantly more cocaine bound for Antwerp in 2024. Vanderwaeren said the main credit goes to tougher anti-drug measures in Ecuador, Peru and Costa Rica. Antwerp remains the main gateway for cocaine from Latin America bound for Europe.
At the same time, Vanderwaeren warned that although the amount of cocaine seized is decreasing, “the number of seizures … is increasing”. According to him, Belgian customs officers are currently seeing “a lot of small seizures and not a lot of large seizures” as smugglers break up their shipments into smaller ones to reduce the risk of being caught. .
By contrast, at Brussels airport, the number of drug seizures increased more than fivefold last year, when more passengers were caught trying to smuggle cocaine in their luggage. In addition to Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and the Dominican Republic, the West African Sierra Leone is also in the top five countries from which cocaine flows to Europe.
At the same time, Belgian customs officials warn of an increase in synthetic drugs such as ecstasy and amphetamine, of which 2.1 tons were seized last year.
