{"id":106002,"date":"2019-11-14T14:13:10","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T13:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=106002"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:34","slug":"why-there-are-record-cocaine-busts-in-the-port-of-rotterdam-again-and-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/11\/14\/why-there-are-record-cocaine-busts-in-the-port-of-rotterdam-again-and-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Why there are record cocaine busts in the port of Rotterdam again and again"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re talking 180,000 employees, 40 kilometres from east to west and thousands of containers every day: everything about the port of Rotterdam is massive. So how do you take on drug trafficking in an area this large? Rotterdam native Robby Roks and Fleming Lieselot Bisschop, two criminologists associated with Erasmus School of Law, have immersed themselves in this subject for over a year.<\/p>\n

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They boarded ships, spoke with countless people involved, accompanied linesmen responsible for bringing in the ships and visited the largest terminals to hear what kind of things go on there. This way, Roks, Bisschop tried to gain insight into drug-related crime in the port, together with criminologists Richard Staring, Elisabeth Brein and Henk van de Bunt. \u201cThe port and its criminal activity shouldn\u2019t be discussed separately of the city itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

We regularly hear about yet another record haul of cocaine in Rotterdam\u2019s port area. Why does the port play such an important role in drug trafficking?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roks: \u201cThis mainly has to do with the port\u2019s geographical situation and good facilities. It\u2019s a natural hub for Latin American companies transporting fruit pulp and concentrate to markets in Western Europe. This creates specific shipping lines that are logical routes \u2013 with criminals more or less riding piggyback.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the relation with, for example, the port of Antwerp, which you\u2019ve also included in your research?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roks: \u201cFrom a Latin American perspective, it\u2019s frankly absurd to find two ports this large so near one another. They\u2019re mainly interested in getting the drugs into Western Europe somehow. And how they\u2019re brought from South America to Europe exactly is mainly determined by existing transport routes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bisschop: \u201cWhen a route moves, the traffickers follow in its wake. You can see this in IJmuiden and Vlissingen. In the late 1990s, Vlissingen wanted to compete with Rotterdam in the fruit segment and constructed a number of fruit terminals. A few years ago, shipping lines rerouted to Vlissingen, and now we can see drug shipments being intercepted there too.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Researchers Jan Tromp and Pieter Tops, who looked into drug-related crime in Amsterdam, talk of a \u2018trade worth hundreds of millions \u2013 if not billions\u2019. Could you make a similar assessment of the drug-related crime in the port?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bisschop: \u201cDue to a dark number [crime that isn\u2019t reflected in the statistics, eds.], you can\u2019t calculate those kinds of figures with any certainty. We\u2019ve resisted the temptation to make any statements. You can see certain trends in seizures, but they\u2019re also dependent on the priorities, approach and information position of the customs administration and the police. This makes it impossible to determine the size, let alone how successful the approach is.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your opinion of Tromp and Tops\u2019 figures?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roks: \u201cI\u2019m not familiar with the situation in Amsterdam, so I couldn\u2019t tell you whether the figures add up. But they\u2019ve extrapolated statements made by, for example, police officers, and taken them as a given \u2013 even though they\u2019re nothing more than estimates. One of the staff of the WODC (Research and Documentation Centre) called it a pamphlet. And I\u2019d agree.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018We\u2019re all aware that drug trafficking is a perfect example of an international phenomenon. Investigation expertise is remarkably local, however\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

So you can\u2019t say anything about the scale of the problem. What could you tell us?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roks: \u201cThanks to our interviews with employees of companies in the port and investigation authorities and our reviews of police files about drug trafficking, we\u2019ve been able to collect data about the nature and handling of drug-related crime. The added value of this research is that we can link together knowledge collected by a variety of organisations and create overview based on a criminological analysis.<\/p>\n

\u201cNevertheless, it\u2019s important to keep an eye on your blind spots. One example: our point of departure was drugs in general. But our conversations mainly centred on cocaine, since this is a specific expertise of the agencies we spoke with. That\u2019s why our study also focuses on cocaine \u2013 which isn\u2019t to say it\u2019s the only narcotic smuggled into the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

What would you say were the most surprising sore points in the fight against drug-related crime in the port?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roks: \u201cWe\u2019re all aware that drug trafficking is a perfect example of an international phenomenon. Investigation expertise is remarkably local, however. There\u2019s no good overview as far as the overall logistics process is concerned: how trafficking is organised from cultivation to user, who\u2019s behind it, which cash flows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bisschop: \u201cI agree. Another painful conclusion, in my view, is that inspections in Rotterdam mainly concentrated on import, while the bulk of cocaine in the Netherlands is actually in transit. On top of this, the Netherlands is a leading manufacturer of XTC, but most of the export flows of this drug via the port remain hidden from view.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I was surprised to see how different the approach could be from one port to the next. In Antwerp, for a long time they focussed on the long term, tracing lines from start to finish and making work of the larger structures. In Rotterdam, on the other hand, there\u2019s a strong focus on \u2018quick hits\u2019 and seizures. Right now, we see that they try to learn from each other and combine the short and long term strategies.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you also see different approaches within the ports themselves, as taken by the different authorities and companies. And besides differences in approach, different parties also have different objectives: one focuses on tax aspects; the other on the safety of its staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is this a bad thing: that the different parties can have such different priorities?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bisschop: \u201cSometimes the differences are so great that they don\u2019t understand each other. This creates obstacles for collaboration between different authorities and between the services and companies in the port. It would already make a huge difference if they were aware of, and knew of, the other parties\u2019 objectives. A succesful example is the Hit And Run Cargo team, where the port police, customs and tax authorities cooperate to align their objectives and approach to intercept drugs.<\/p>\n

For example, public agencies aren\u2019t always aware that private companies have a strong interest in curbing drug-related crime too. Steps are also being taken here, for example at the Information Sharing Center. That\u2019s a public-private cooperation where terminal operators, port police and customs share information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reading your study, it becomes clear from that \u2013 as one of your respondents put it \u2013 \u2018corruption plays an indispensable role\u2019 in drug trafficking. Still, you report that around the turn of the century, researchers actually claimed that corruption wasn\u2019t necessary for trafficking. How can this have changed that much in 20 years\u2019 time?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bisschop: \u201cThe port has become a large, obtuse environment \u2013 due to the growth in the number of containers used and automation, for example. If you want to get a handle on what\u2019s going on there, you can\u2019t do without \u2018inside\u2019 information. If only because you otherwise risk getting run over by one of the automatic guided vehicles at the terminals or you simply won\u2019t be able to find your container with drugs between the thousands of other boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roks: \u201cBesides, corruption sounds very serious, but we discovered that it doesn\u2019t have to amount to a huge case like the one with customs officer Gerrit G. [who received a 14-year sentence for letting through coke and advising criminals, eds.], who could press the right buttons to get containers with drugs through uninspected. It can also be on a smaller scale: lending someone your access card, for example, or sharing information about specific operational processes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018The port has become a large, obtuse environment. If you want to get a handle on what\u2019s going on there, you can\u2019t do without \u201cinside\u201d information\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Other researchers who wanted to study corruption in the port recently claimed they were \u2018actively obstructed\u2019 by Customs. Did you notice anything like this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roks: \u201cIn all truthfulness: no. In part, I think this has to do with the fact that we had been endorsed by a number of clients, which meant that doors opened for us relatively quickly. In addition, we were researching drug-related crime in general, with corruption only being brought up in context. Rather than going in with the express intention to study corruption itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public opinion is increasingly turning against the normalisation of drug use. Users should be more aware of their involvement in the crime associated with the production and trafficking of drugs. Do you feel this is justified?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bisschop: <\/strong>\u201cWhile our research didn\u2019t focus on drug use, we recognise the sentiment. Among some of our respondents, the feeling was: \u2018We can\u2019t discuss trafficking without discussing use as well.\u2019 And it\u2019s good that people are becoming aware of the link between their using a substance and the associated crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which role does the port play in normalising the culture of drug use?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bisschop: \u201cIt\u2019s true that a port of this size will remain vulnerable to trafficking. But it would be taking it too far to blame the port for the fact that drug use is relatively accepted in the Netherlands. I couldn\u2019t establish that link based on our research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roks: \u201cNor would I say that our historical cocaine use has fuelled the port\u2019s growth or expansion. This has far more to do with the geographical situation of the port and its facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could also turn the argument around and say that drug-related crime and trafficking in the port are the result of the criminalisation of a substance that in itself isn\u2019t particularly harmful or beneficial. It has been included on certain lists due to specific agreements, and this has consequences for how it ends up at the user.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Basically, you\u2019re saying the criminalisation of cocaine has resulted in this crime.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roks: \u201cYes, to an extent. With regulated products like, let\u2019s say, bananas, the logistic process is almost the same. But you do not have the problems that cocaine causes in the logistics chain, because bananas are not criminalized, such as cocaine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next week, a committee appointed by the municipal council will be discussing your study. What should they keep in mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bisschop: \u201cImportant point is the link between the city and the port. In part due to their physical proximity, the two are very closely connected. It would also be a good idea to keep drug-related crime in the port on the City\u2019s long-term agenda. So not just now, because the current Mayor wants to make work of this problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor this, it is important, among other things, to further explore what role the Port of Rotterdam itself can play, for example by setting certain conditions for rent. But also what companies in the port can do themselves to combat drug crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd finally, the government and the private companies should examine which options they have when it comes to exchanging data. A lot of agencies and private parties that could actually help make the fight against drug trafficking more effective aren\u2019t allowed to share information. They run into privacy legislation, for instance \u2013 in some cases, these barriers are justified; but in others, they may have other options.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting to see how certain aspects of our study are already being highlighted by people. This has everything to do with priorities, budgets and the allocation of assets, but still\u2026 Aboutaleb, for example, would like to trace routes upstream to the source countries; but doesn\u2019t want to go downstream to see how drugs are distributed or exported, or look into the underlying cash flows. Even though they\u2019re black holes in their own right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Read more about drugs<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t