“Smart seal keeps shipment clean”

Earlier this year, a batch of 4,000 kilograms of cocaine was intercepted in a shed in Hazeldonk, just south of Breda, the Netherlands. The drugs were concealed among the bananas. The frequency of the interceptions appears to be increasing. Official figures show an increase, and according to some crime reporters, not all finds are made public. Are importers at risk of their shipment being abused more often?

Last year, more drugs were intercepted in the Port of Rotterdam than in previous years. Official figures show that 15.5 tonnes were intercepted, 12.5 tonnes of which were intercepted in the Port of Rotterdam. Thirty tonnes were intercepted in the Port of Antwerp. “There were a number of major batches,” says Jan, team leader of the HARC team. The HARC team is a cooperation between police, customs, and the FIOD, and is taxed with tracking narcotics. While batches of some hundreds of kilograms were intercepted in the past, last year featured more batches of between 1,000 and 4,000 kilograms. “These types of large batches occurred only occasionally in the past, but we are seeing them more often nowadays,” Jan says.

For years, the consumption of cocaine has been stable at around 250,000 tonnes per year. The exact cause of the large number of interceptions is unclear. Multiple factors coincide to this end. “We as customs started working differently. We receive better information, and companies report more often. Because of that, the number of interceptions is increasing,” Jan explains.

Additionally, the onrush from Latin America has increased as well. “The coca fields in South America were sprayed with a chemical substance,” the customs officer knows. “That substance is carcinogenic for people and animals, and is no longer used, resulting in more coca leaves being available.” A second cause for the larger supply of cocaine is more political. The FARC signed a peace treaty with the Colombian government. “The FARC had strategic stocks, which they are now selling. Supply is increasing because of that.”

The enormous number of containers arriving in the Port of Rotterdam daily, doesn’t make it easy to trace the drugs. With an annual TEU of 12 million, of which a large part arrives directly from Latin America in Rotterdam, customs are looking for the figurative needle in a haystack. “It appears as if the criminals have become more sure of their case, and are therefore not scared of sending larger batches.” Customs make use of, among other things, risk profiles to select containers for inspection. Inspecting all containers is an impossible task. 

Besides the well-known rip-off method, for which sports bags filled with drugs are placed among the shipment, after which they are removed from the container in the Port of Rotterdam, smugglers increasingly often use the container’s construction to hide the drugs. In the floor or the ceiling, in the construction or with the cooling motors are popular hiding places for the narcotics.

In Latin America, authorities are doing everything possible to end the smuggling. While it’s an import problem here, it’s an export problem over there. That’s why people from Europe are working with customs in the Latin American countries. The effort of the South American countries is to set up a safe supply chain. Considering that in most of the cases, the exporter or the importer isn’t involved with the smuggling, people are trying to prevent smugglers gaining access to the container by, for example, giving certificates to lorry drivers.

“However, integrity means something else over there than it does here. An importer can never say it won’t happen to him,” Jan continues. It can never be ruled out that cocaine is hidden in the container, despite a system having been set up in, for example, Ecuador in which the containers are inspected before they are delivered to the plantations, certified drivers are used for transport, and all kinds of seals are used to keep the container clean.

For fruit importers in Europe, a smart seal can at least prevent the rip-off method. “These are electronic locks that can only be opened by the importer and the exporter. That way, the cocaine cannot be concealed in the shipment.” Additionally, an ‘honest means of transport’ should be looked for. Smugglers who make use of the container instead of the shipment, work differently. At the depot for empty containers in Latin America, drugs are hidden in, for example, the floor, the ceiling or the construction of the container. The container can then be loaded with bananas, for example, which are shipped to Rotterdam. The container is delivered to the importer, who unloads the bananas. When the container is subsequently placed at the depot for empty containers in the Port of Rotterdam, the criminals strike in order to remove the drugs from the empty construction. “The content remains clean that way, and the importer isn’t bothered by it.”

When the cocaine is found in a regular batch of bananas or other type of fruit, the products are released for the importer as quickly as possible. In those cases, the importer has played no part. That wasn’t the case with the interception in Hazeldonk last month. The 4,000 kilograms of cocaine, concealed among the bananas, were unloaded in an empty shed. The shed was unsuitable for storing fruit. It became clear to police and customs that the importer and the lorry driver were also involved. In these cases, the product is declared forfeited and passed on to the Public Prosecutor. In many cases, the fruit is destroyed.

In recent years, it has increasingly happened that lorry drivers are forced off the road by the criminals. “Because of the better inspections in the port, chances are that the criminals cannot manage to get the cocaine from the container,” Jan explains. “That means the drivers are at more risk.” If a driver is confronted by the criminals, the advice is: “Don’t be a hero, but cooperate. It’s only cocaine. That might sound strange, but I wouldn’t give a dime for it, so I would definitely not give my health,” Jan says. The only thing you can do is observe. Try to remember signs or number plates. The same is advised to importers confronted with an unwanted batch of cocaine. “Immediately close the container and take your workers away form the container. You don’t know whether the criminals followed the container to take the drugs from it,” Jan continues. “Call the emergency number, the customs emergency room: +31 (0)88 151 44 44, or, if you want to give an anonymous tip: Report Crime Anonymously: +31 (0)800 70 00.”