2023-08-01 05:31:00
Last January, an attack notably led to the death of an 11-year-old girl, the niece of a well-known drug baron entrenched in Dubai. Attacks are made via impressive arsenals of war, ranging from Kalashnikovs to grenades. The gear seems unstoppable.
Customs seize almost 800 kilos of cocaine in Antwerp
According to the latest data, no less than 54 tonnes of cocaine were seized at the port of Antwerp during the first six months of the year. This is a new record catch recorded over a half-year. Although seizures are increasing thanks to increased collaboration between the federal and local police, the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office and cocaine-exporting countries, it is clear that impressive quantities of drugs continue to flow. The measures taken do not seem to be able to worry the drug traffickers who, for many, operate from “untouchable” cities such as Dubai.
Cocaine seizures in Antwerp ©IPM Graphics
The reasons for this failure are multiple, starting with corruption. For example, last September, a federal police officer was placed under arrest warrant for having, in vain, offered approximately one million euros to customs officers to help him gain access to a container containing several hundred kilos of cocaine, which is still under seal in Antwerp.
The amount of cocaine seized at the port of Antwerp is too large to be destroyed: its storage poses security concerns
“Corruption is always present, whether in customs and administrative matters”, explains the examining magistrate Michel Claise. “We cannot eradicate it because the amounts are considerable and the drug traffickers are financially omnipotent. The people threatened, including many dockworkers, have no choice but to give in to corruption. If a drug trafficker tells a docker to place such and such a container in such and such a place, otherwise his child will suffer and in the process, he receives 15,000 euros, well he will do it. It is therefore urgent to create reception cells for the people threatened.
“Other encrypted messengers have replaced Sky ECC”
According to him, the dismantling of Sky ECC encrypted messaging has made it possible to dismantle networks, but we must go one step further. “Sky ECC, it existed but since then other couriers have replaced it and we have never managed to infiltrate them. There is an ever-increasing demand in Europe and with a gram of cocaine sold at 50 euros, drug traffickers continue to make their business fluctuate. Sky ECC, this is only a tiny part of the phenomenon. We are only beginning to negotiate at the international level the verification of imports but we must speed up the work if we want to try to stop import,” he concludes.
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