Cocaine trafficking in the Port of Rotterdam: a cat-and-mouse game

How much cocaine is intercepted? 

According to the Drugs Information and Monitoring System of the Trimbos Institute, the average price for a gram of cocaine in 2023 was €51.70. In 2024, customs intercepted 35,000 kilograms of cocaine. Converted, the total value of the seizure in 2024 would amount to approximately €1.81 billion. But what does 35,000 kilograms represent in relation to the total quantity of smuggled drugs? Roks states: "Researchers have recently calculated that it could be around 60 percent. However, when consulting with enforcement agency personnel, they express significant reservations about these figures. Some suggest the interception rate might be considerably lower—perhaps 20 percent or even just 10 percent. In my view, the honest answer is that we do not yet know with any meaningful certainty." 

The smuggling routes and methods 

Smugglers employ diverse methods to bring cocaine into the Netherlands. Roks has classified these methods into three so-called crime scripts: smuggling via cargo, smuggling via vessel, and smuggling via container. At the University of the Netherlands, he explains what these crime scripts entail. "With smuggling via cargo, the cocaine is concealed within the cargo, specifically between layers of items or, for example, in hollowed-out pineapples or amongst mangoes. One can also consider cocaine that has been processed, for instance in frozen orange juice or in clothing." 

In crime script two, smuggling via vessel, cocaine can be hidden somewhere aboard the ship. Cargo vessels are tremendously large. This makes it possible for corrupted employees to find a suitable hiding place. Roks continues: "But there are also examples where they fill a large torpedo with cocaine and attempt to attach it beneath the ship, so that the cocaine remains under the vessel throughout the sea voyage and is eventually retrieved here in Rotterdam by divers." 

The final crime script, smuggling via container, involves concealing cocaine somewhere in the container. This can be in the walls, ceiling, or even in the container's cooling unit. Roks says: "Besides examples where cocaine is built into the container, the so-called 'rip-off method' also falls under this category. These are sports bags full of cocaine that are added to the container at the last moment, just before departure from Latin America." 

The role of extractors 

With the rip-off method, the sports bags are subsequently removed from the container at the destination port. This is done by extractors. Notably, extractors are becoming increasingly younger. According to Roks, this may be related to the stricter penalties that have been implemented for extractors. "Until recently, if you were found on such a harbour terrain, you would essentially only receive a fine because you were somewhere you were not permitted to be," Roks explains. "For several years now, they have had the so-called 'uithalerswet (extractor law)', which also makes it possible to give more severe penalties to individuals found on harbour terrains, especially when they have been found there multiple times. One of the things one might consider is that the people organising this smuggling are also trying to adapt to this and are therefore primarily sending people to the harbour who, if caught, do not risk being imprisoned for two years, because they have never been in the harbour before and, due to their young age, might only receive community service." 

De Uithalerswet (the Extractor Law) 

Prior to the implementation of the Extractor Law, individuals found on harbour terrains without authorisation merely received a fine. Sometimes extractors would be back in the harbour the following day. To end this practice, the Extractor Law was introduced on 1 January 2022. This law stipulates that individuals who are found unauthorised in the harbour and are suspected of operating as extractors risk imprisonment—even if they do not have drugs on their person at that time. The maximum penalty for this is one year's imprisonment. If someone additionally uses false access documents, the penalty can increase to two years' imprisonment. 

Help from inside – a new crucial player in the game 

The Rotterdam harbour is a strictly secured area, yet smugglers find ways to infiltrate. Roks indicates that this occurs through internal assistance. Harbour employees, from lorry drivers to customs officers, are increasingly being pressured or bribed to lend access passes or relay information. Roks notes that this has been a trend in recent years. "If you look further back, for example, at cases that occurred around the 1990s and 2000s, you observed that internal assistance was less necessary. Various investigative studies examined at that time revealed that corruption was essentially not required and that cocaine entered the harbour without internal assistance." 

But why is internal assistance necessary now? Roks explains that the approach to drug smuggling has improved significantly in recent years due to various adaptations in the harbour. It is becoming increasingly difficult for drug smugglers to conduct their activities. "You see that you increasingly need someone from the inside." When extractors need to retrieve sports bags from a container, for instance, they require very specific information. Container terminals are immensely large. Roks describes searching for a container in such a terminal without specific information as "looking for a needle in a haystack". Smugglers are thus eager to strengthen their operations with harbour employees who can, for example, provide information about a container's location or who are willing to lend their access pass to the harbour. 

The battle against smuggling 

Enforcement agencies are attempting to put increasing pressure on smugglers with enhanced security, stricter controls, and advanced technology. However, it is a cat-and-mouse game: the better the enforcement agencies become, the more cleverly the smugglers operate. "That is how it works. They search for various vulnerabilities in the system and thus also in people. And if they see or know that someone has gambling debts or an addiction, for example, these are naturally the buttons that could be pressed to ultimately get something from someone." 

In his next research project, Roks would like to speak with smugglers. He would want to ask them questions such as: "How do they handle bottlenecks? How do you deal with surveillance? Or what do you do when enforcement agencies ensure that certain things are no longer possible?" Roks' ultimate goal is to better understand drug smuggling and, with the knowledge gained, prevent smuggling in the future. This research is part of the FORT-PORT project, which addresses how to enhance security and resilience against organised crime in the Port of Rotterdam. FORT-PORT is directed by Erasmus School of Law researchers Karin van Wingerde, Lieselot Bisschop, Robby Roks and Richard Staring, and is funded by the Dutch Research Council (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek).