Illegal Drugs & Smuggling
The transport of illegal drugs through European ports and the measures taken by port authorities, national governments and international organisations to counter the efforts of smugglers. This includes news about the European Union and Europol, and illegal drug discoveries in docked ships and ports.
Links with South America expose ports to criminal gangs
Vigo, Spain (Ports Europe) May 21, 2024 – Whilst Galicia in Northern Spain is not considered a main gateway for cocaine smuggling into Europe, there are...
Over 1,000 kg of cocaine seized in Spanish & Portuguese ports
Madrid, Spain (Ports Europe) May 21, 2024 – The Portuguese Tax Agency, National Police and Judicial Police have seized more than 1,000 kilos of cocaine...
116 kg of cocaine seized in Vado port, Genoa
Genoa, Italy (Ports Europe) May 15, 2024 – A total of 102 blocks of cocaine have been seized inside a container in Vado port. The drugs initially...
Bloomberg: Cocaine superhighway to Europe
Antwerp, Belgium (Ports Europe) May 14, 2024 – Cocaine seizures through Antwerp port have grown more than 20-fold over the last decade,...
Yachting cocaine route Bulgaria-Greece busted
Sofia, Bulgaria (Ports Europe) May 14, 2024 – Over 10 tonnes of cocaine were transported per year by yachts between Bulgaria’s Black Sea marinas in...
German investigators find 190 kilos of cocaine in banana crates
Hamburg, Germany (Ports Europe) May 12, 2024 – The state criminal police office in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, has seized around 190 kilograms of cocaine...
60 kg of cocaine seized in Russian port of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Russia (Ports Europe) May 10, 2024 – Some 60 kg of cocaine were seized in Russia’s Big Port of St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea on April...
Fake bananas with 250 kg of cocaine seized in Gioia Tauro port
Gioia Tauro, Italy (Ports Europe) May 10, 2024 – More than 250 kg of cocaine was seized in Italy’s Mediterranean port of Gioia Tauro on May 8 in a load of...
340 kilos of hashish and marijuana found in Civitavecchia port
Civitavecchia, Italy (Ports Europe) May 10, 2024 – Two consignments of over 340 kilos of hashish and marijuana, hidden among pallets of fruit and...
Ecuador confiscates drugs destined for Bulgaria
Quito, Ecuador (Ports Europe) May 8, 2024 – Ecuadorian police have seizure of a tonne of cocaine hydrochloride at a port in the coastal province of...
Port Security Corps in the port of Antwerp sees success
Antwerp, Belgium (Ports Europe) May 8, 2024 – The creation of the Port Security Corps in the port of Antwerp a year ago has increased security checks and...
Coalition publishes the Hamburg Declaration to fight illegal drugs
Hamburg, Germany (Ports Europe) May 8, 2024 – Yesterday, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser hosted a ministerial conference of the coalition...
Attempted smuggling of 209 kg of cannabis via Igoumenitsa port
Igoumenitsa, Greece (Ports Europe) May 7, 2024 – An unidentified truck driver, who tried to smuggle 209 kg of cannabis via the northwestern Greek port of...
Cocaine seized in Hamburg port has tripled in the last five years
Hamburg, Germany (Ports Europe) May 7, 2024 – It has been reported that the amount of cocaine seized in the port of Hamburg has tripled in the last five...
Guardia Civil seizes 2,345 kilos of hashish off Las Palmas
Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain (Ports Europe) April 29, 2024 – Spain’s Guardia Civil has seized 2,345 kilos of hashish after intercepting an...
Berlin hosts anti-drugs event with Hamburg, Antwerp, Rotterdam
Berin, (Ports Europe) April 29, 2024 – Last week, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser hosted a meeting in Berlin with Dr Peter Tschentscher,...
25 tons of hashish seized in the port of Algeciras
Algeciras, Spain (Ports Europe) April 26, 2024 – The Civil Guard, in collaboration with the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, has seized...
Cocaine found in port of Piraeus
Piraeus, Greece (Ports Europe) April 26, 2024 – Inspectors from the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (AADE) have seized a huge...
Port of Ravenna, 150kg cocaine seized from ship
Ravenna, Italy (Ports Europe) April 23, 2024 – Around 150 kilos of cocaine were seized by the police on a ship waiting in the port of Ravenna. The...
55 kg of cocaine seized in the port of Haifa
Haifa, Israel (Ports Europe) April 23, 2024 – An operation by the authorities has seized 55 kg of cocaine in the port of Haifa. The drugs were discovered...