EU seaports remain a prime focus for drug trafficking networks, serving as key entry points for illicit drugs into the region. As a result, there is a vital need for closer cooperation and better data sharing among ports to effectively tackle the problem. This is according to a new report released today ahead of International day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking (26 June). The report, entitled Seaports: monitoring the EU’s floodgates for illicit drugs, is a joint analysis by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Western Europe (RILO-WE).
Developed in support of the European Ports Alliance Public-Private Partnership (European Ports Alliance) (1), the report provides the first detailed overview of maritime drug trafficking targeting EU ports. The ultimate aim of reporting on this issue is to strengthen capacity to monitor trafficking trends at these key locations and inform evidence-based responses at EU level.
The findings highlight the worrying scale of criminal activity targeting EU seaports. Over 1 826 tonnes of illicit drugs were seized, at, or in transit to, EU seaports between January 2019 and June 2024 — 68 % being intercepted at the EU seaports themselves (1 244 tonnes) and the remainder in non-EU locations but in shipments destined for the EU. Around 1 507 tonnes (83 %) were seized from container ships.
A total of 18 EU Member States, covering 96 EU ports reported drug seizures to the WCO Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) database, including 24 of the 33 seaports belonging to the European Ports Alliance. The analysis describes how some seaports that are currently not members of the Alliance are ‘significant targets for maritime drug trafficking’, indicating the potential importance of expanding its membership, as announced in the ProtectEU Strategy.
The report reveals that a small number of EU ports, such as Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Antwerp (Belgium), capture a large proportion of all the drugs seized in Europe. However, a diverse range of other ports, of varying sizes and shipping capacities, are also impacted and report significant seizures of a variety of drugs.
Cocaine is by far the most trafficked drug, accounting for around 82 % (1 487 tonnes) of the total drugs intercepted in the monitoring period, followed by cannabis resin (260 tonnes). The ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam seized the largest quantities of cocaine (around 443 tonnes and 181 tonnes respectively) and heroin (8.1 tonnes and 5 tonnes respectively). The Spanish ports of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Huelva seized the largest quantities of cannabis resin (42 tonnes and 30 tonnes respectively). At least 21.7 tonnes of captagon were intercepted at EU seaports during the period, the majority from one seizure in Salerno (Italy) in 2020 (14.2 tonnes).
The report warns that the scale and regularity of large shipments (averaging over 500 kg of cocaine and 1.3 tonnes of cannabis resin per shipment) confirm that criminal networks are using EU ports to smuggle wholesale amounts of drugs, especially cocaine. It also implies a significant degree of penetration by organised criminal networks in EU ports, including the likely corruption of some port staff. Additionally, violence related to drug trafficking has frequently been seen in these port environments. Most of the drugs smuggled through EU ports eventually supply national drug markets where violence is increasingly observed.
The report concludes with a series of recommendations, including strengthening data collection and reporting on seizures of drugs and precursor chemicals and ensuring that all seaports belonging to the European Ports Alliance regularly provide comprehensive seizure data to the WCO CEN database. The report also stresses the relevance of expanding the membership of the European Ports Alliance and providing training and resources to law enforcement officials, port authorities and other stakeholders to improve data collection and reporting.
