Large amounts of illegal substances flood European ports as the cocaine market rapidly expands throughout the continent.
Drug Traffickers Are Expanding Europe’s Cocaine Market
Europe is becoming the new cocaine market as more large shipments of this illegal drug are being seized at European ports. This is becoming the new normal where authorities confiscate tons of illicit substances from nearby and far-off countries.
In July, German police seized 1o tonnes of cocaine, making it the second largest confiscation in the Port of Hamburg. Italian authorities intercepted five tonnes of the illegal drug off the Sicilian coast on July 16th. On the same day, Belgian authorities picked off 6.8 tonnes of cocaine in Brussels. Also, Dutch customs seized over eight tonnes of cocaine among the bananas valued at around $653 million packed inside a container on a Maersk box ship.
Lately, Europe is displaying records of seized huge amounts of shipments, which is very alarming. Florida International University professor and expert in illegal trafficking, Yulia Vorobyeva explained the recent trend.
“These dynamics may be related to the growth of trafficking routes, which are moving into new geographic areas. But in general, Europe is an expanding market for cocaine. When we look at different indicators — the prevalence of cocaine in wastewater, retail prices, levels of purity, and drug treatment data — we can see that there are no signs of a fall in cocaine use in Europe’s established markets,” said Vorobyeva.
She added that compared to the data results from past years, there is evidence of growth in cocaine use in other countries. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction’s last year wastewater report, for instance, revealed accumulation of use at all sampled locations in the Czech Republic.
Drug traffickers experiment to avoid ports by shifting from large ports to small ports. They change their trafficking strategies to evade anti-narcotics agencies. So they shift to other methods of transport and final destination.
Factors Affecting Cocaine Prices
Several possible factors affect illegal drug prices in the cocaine market. It includes a decrease in US demand, the reorganisation of criminal confederates in Colombia, and the disposal of other illegal activities by local groups among others. However, the decline in cocaine prices.
If Europe maintains its demand or if it grows, low prices from its origin might see prices at depot countries fall. It means the illicit substance becomes more convenient in Europe. However, it still depends on the adeptness of the drug traffickers to coordinate logistics in changing circumstances. It also includes connections between drug merchants in cocaine-producing countries and those in target countries.
Generally, alliances establish according to kinship, religion, cultural factors, ethnicity, family, and geographic or social proximity. This occurs due to trust, which is a key factor, as one partner is confident that the other will support them no matter what.
Additionally, rhetorical and cultural aspects are crucial to European traffickers. For example, Albanian-speaking groups monopolise drug trafficking from Latin America to Europe and within Europe. Regions in the Gulf of Guinea are the primary African countries for cocaine trafficking to Europe.
Captagon May Enter European Cocaine Market Soon
Also known as the “poor man’s drug” or “drug of jihad,” Captagon is an inexpensive drug that has sparked the party scenes in Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia. Originally developed in Germany in the 1960s for treating medical conditions, this potent amphetamine stimulant may make room in the European cocaine market.
Widely produced in secret laboratories throughout the Middle East, this drug is readily available along the Syrian-Lebanese border. Likewise, smaller factories nearer to Syria’s frontier with Jordan manufacture this illegal drug.
Authorities believe that Captagon is a mixture of caffeine, fenethylline, and other fillers. This powerful blend makes users awake and energetic, ideal for frontline fighters and partygoers. The price is cheap that sells for around $3 to $25 for each tablet compared to its counterparts because of the availability of raw materials used for production. Hence, the name “poor man’s drug.
According to intelligence agencies and government officials, the Syrian government and its allies, such as the Lebanese militia Hezbollah have something to do with the production and trafficking of Captagon. They also probed into the alleged involvement of Maher al-Assad – head of the army’s Fourth Division and brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
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