Irish authorities have set up a high-level implementation group to join a European ports network tasked with tackling the booming sea trade in international drug trafficking.
As the Irish Examiner reports, the move comes as EU officials try to address growing concerns at the corruption of port officials and workers, sometimes through severe threats, and incidents, of violence and intimidation and as European seizures now exceed that of the US, traditionally the world’s largest cocaine market.
In Ireland, more than 300kg of cocaine was seized in Foynes in Co Limerick last December.
Two months earlier, 2.25 tonnes of cocaine worth more than €150 million was found onboard a bulk cargo vessel off the Cork coast.
In February of this year, more than half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine worth more than €30 million was seized in Ringaskiddy in Cork.
The EU drugs agency and the EU Home Affairs Directorate have warned that South American drug cartels are increasingly targeting “smaller ports” — away from the major ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam — and that this could include “all ports in all countries” including Ireland.
The European Ports Alliance brings together the State and the private sector to boost intelligence gathering and cooperation between police, customs, and privately-run ports.
The alliance has a €200 million budget to fund modern equipment to help customs in member states “scan containers more efficiently” as well as a range of expertise and supports.
The establishment of the EU initiative comes as figures published last week by the EU drugs agency reveal that seizures of cocaine across member states have reached record levels for six years in a row.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction said 323 tonnes were seized in 2022, compared to 303 tonnes in 2021 and up from 80 tonnes in 1996.
Many EU countries, including Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Ireland — all reported record hauls of cocaine in 2023.
