Critics of ‘war on drugs’ say record seizures reflect growing global footprint of cocaine trade, rather than success in extinguishing it
Critics of ‘war on drugs’ say record seizures reflect growing global footprint of cocaine trade, rather than success in wiping it awayA significant quantity of cocaine was discovered on a large container ship off the coast of Cork which was boarded by the Army Ranger Wing. Video: Defence Forces
Authorities have been setting records across Europe this summer, not just in Ireland. The 2.2 tonne haul on the MV Matthew was less than half the new Italian record of 5.3 tonnes set in July, which was itself dwarfed by the 8.3-tonne load seized in Rotterdam the same month and the 9.5 tonnes discovered in a container in the Spanish port of Algeciras in August. Meanwhile, during the first six months of the year 43.
Drug trafficking organisations have long built into their business calculations the risk of seizures and other enforcement operations targeting them. One means of doing so is to relentlessly boost production to ensure seizures like the one off Co Cork have negligible impact on supply. Colombia alone is now estimated by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to produce more than 1,700 tonnes of cocaine annually, out of a global total of about 2,000 tonnes.
This strategy has the added benefit of expanding the industry’s horizons, transshipment hubs typically developing into lucrative new markets. Once a marginal consumer country, cocaine consumption has boomed in Brazil at the same time as the country has emerged as a major transshipment hub. The pattern is now repeating itself in African nations that are emerging hubs for cocaine coming through Brazil on its way to Europe and rapidly expanding new markets in Asia.
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