More than two tons of cocaine found on the coast of France: how to explain this wave of drugs?

More than two tons of cocaine have been found in the city since Sunday. french beaches English Channel, new evidence of an increase in the drug trade in Europe, coming mainly from South America.

16.3 tons of cocaine by sea

Numerous bales cocainehermetically sealed, appeared since February 26 on the beaches of Normandy, in the north-west of France.

According to Rennes prosecutor Philippe Astruc, 804 kg drugs were discovered on Sunday and 1234 kg on Wednesday, or 2038 tons in total.

The sacks may have been voluntarily thrown into the sea to evade controls, or they themselves fell off the ship, a source close to the case explains.

This incident accounts for just over 7% of cocaine seizures in 2022. According to the latest balance sheet of the authorities, 27.7 tons of cocaine were intercepted, that is, 5% more than in 2021, and this figure has increased five times in 10 years.

On February 19, customs officers in the port of Le Havre (northwest) have already seized 1.9 tons cocaine”historic” operation, according to the French minister Public AccountsGabriel Attal, who made the announcement on Wednesday.

Maritime transport is the main mode of transport for cocaine in France, where 75.4% of volumes were seized (compared to 84% in 2021), i.e. 16.3 tons.

It’s not the first time cocaine has been introduced. large numbers off the French coast. At the end of 2019, balloons containing a total of 1.6 tons of white powder from Colombia Within a few months they ran aground on the beaches of a vast area stretching from Saint-Jean-de-Luz (southwest) to Camaret (west).

Where does the cocaine consumed in Europe come from?

Most of it comes from three main producing countries: Colombia, Peru And Bolivian. Experts estimate the total volume of cocaine offered on the world market in 2021 at more than 2,000 tons, two-thirds of which is supplied by Colombia.

Most of cocainelike 90% of world trade, it crosses the Atlantic in ocean-going containers hidden in perfectly legal cargo from South American ports, especially Santos in Brazil and Guayaquil in Ecuador.

More than half (55%) of the white powder seized in 2022 came from the Antilles and Guyana, a transit area before arriving in the metropolis.

The rest of the packages go through West Africa before arriving in Europe. product it is then unloaded at major European ports such as the Belgian ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp (162 tons seized in 2022), the Spanish port of Barcelona or Le Havre (more than 10 tons in 2021).

The rest travel by plane in suitcases or the guts of “mules” that travel to Cayenne, the French region of South America, on flights to Paris.

Record profits and hyperviolent crimes

Although groups from smugglers South Americans have long been in a privileged position USANow they are primarily aimed at Europe, where consumption is skyrocketing.

According to the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), about 3.5 million Europeans have tried cocaine at least once in 2021.

Historic level, four times the average of 20 years ago.

Traffic offers unrivaled profitability. A kilo bought for $1,000 in South America sells for €35,000 ($37,170) in Europe.

The European Police Office (Europol) is today evaluating the annual retail sales market for cocaine from 7,600 to 10,500 million euros (from 8,070 to 11,150 million dollars).

The profit motive generates hyperviolent crimeinspired by what wreaks havoc in South America.

Major European ports today suffer from the violence of local mafiosi such as the Moroccan mafia in the Netherlands and Belgium, the Albanian, Serbian and Kosovo underworld or the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta.

These groups do not hesitate to bribe certain stevedores, port agents, truck drivers, customs officers and policemen so that the loot can be removed from the containers. (AFP)