Cocaine is being smuggled into Europe through new routes and with almost perfect camouflage, a Europol report released on Tuesday showed.
The international drug gangs have switched to new methods, the report by the European police agency in The Hague said. They are using high technology, transfers on the high seas, semi-submersibles, speedboats, drones and sophisticated hiding places.
"Cocaine trafficking into Europe has reached unprecedented levels, driven by high production in Latin America and increasing demand within the EU," Europol's report said.
However, the gangs are less frequently targeting major seaports like Antwerp or Rotterdam, it said.
Europol experts point out that cocaine is being hidden in industrial plants, machinery, or even underwater on the hull of ships.
Gangs are also concealing the drugs with the help of "carrier materials" into food, plastics or textiles. Europol describes this as almost perfect camouflage: "These methods make detection by scanners, sniffer dogs, and forensic tests extremely difficult."
The international gangs are also using technology such as encrypted communication systems, autonomous ships and drones. They hope to evade investigators this way.
Europol experts indicate that the gangs are increasingly transferring the goods onto a daughter ship on the high seas, heading towards West Africa.
From there, the cocaine is then transported directly to the European mainland or to the Canary Islands. With the help of speedboats, the drugs then reach the Andalusian coast and subsequently the entire European Union.
Europol chief Catherine De Bolle emphasized the necessity of international cooperation: "We know that these groups are increasingly diversifying their methods, using smaller vessels, at-sea transfers, and clever concealment techniques to evade detection."
