Illegal Drugs & Smuggling
The transport of illegal drugs through European ports and the measures taken by port authorities, national governments and international organisations to counter the efforts of smugglers. This includes news about the European Union and Europol, and illegal drug discoveries in docked ships and ports.
One killed, 8 hostages, 2,300 kg cocaine near Canary Islands
Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain (Ports Europe) February 20, 2024 – Eight hostages were freed in November 2023 from Sea Paradise, a Panama-flagged towing...
Belgium: Customs seizes 10 million cigarettes in Zeebrugge
News Release – Belgian customs have intercepted a container with almost 11 million (10,830,000) Chinese cigarettes in Zeebrugge, worth 5.2 million euros...
St. Petersburg port and drugs
St. Petersburg, Russia (Ports Europe) February 20, 2024 – More than 1,200 kg of cocaine was seized in the Big Port of St. Petersburg in January in a...
Eight tons of cocaine found in Port of Algeciras
Algeciras, Spain (Ports Europe) February 12, 2024 – Officials from the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency have seized eight tons of cocaine...
Two policemen killed when drug smugglers rammed boat in Barbate port
Barbate, Spain (Ports Europe) February 12, 2024 – Two police (Guardia Civil) officers were killed and two others injured in a boat chase of drug...
Authorities find 27 kg of cocaine in container of bananas, Livorno
Livorno, Italy (Ports Europe) February 12, 2024 – Officials of the anti-fraud department of the Livorno Customs office have found 25 blocks of pure...
70 kg marijuana seized in Sardinia’s port of Isola Bianca
Olbia, Italy (Ports Europe) February 11, 2024 – Some 70 kg of marijuana were seized by Italy’s Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) during loading...
Piraeus port is not part of the European Ports Alliance
Brussels, Belgium (Ports Europe) February 8, 2024 – Last month, the European Commission announced the formation of the European Ports Alliance. The...
Senior customs official arrested for drugs smuggling in Malaga port
Malaga, Spain (Ports Europe) February 6, 2024 – A senior customs official in Malaga port on the Costa del Sol coast of the Mediterranean Sea has been...
Algeciras joins the new European Ports Alliance
Algeciras, Spain (Ports Europe) January 25, 2024 – The Spanish port of Algeciras has joins the new European Ports Alliance Public Private Partnership in...
European Union launches European Ports Alliance
Brussels, Belgium (Ports Europe) January 24, 2024 – The Commission and the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, Member States, ports authorities,...
EU to fight drugs in ports – Antwerp in focus
Antwerp, Belgium (Ports Europe) January 23, 2024 – To combat the tsunami of drugs flooding European ports, on January 24 senior representatives from some 20...
Luxury cars seized by police in Port of Gioia Tauro
Gioia Tauro, Italy (Ports Europe) January 18, 2024 – The Port of Gioia Tauro appears to be a focal in the smuggling operation of luxury cars from Canada...
Ecuadorean cocaine goes to smaller European ports
Guayaquil, Ecuador (Ports Europe) January 12, 2024 – As cartels and crime syndicates flock to Ecuador for cocaine trade profits, its murder rate has...
Banned ozone-depleting refrigerant seized in Constanta port
Constanta, Romania (Ports Europe) January 8, 2024 – Coast guard and customs have blocked the import of 4,136 12 kg cylinders of R134a, a banned...
57 kg of cocaine found hidden in pineapples in Algeciras port
Algeciras, Spain (Ports Europe) December 14, 2023 – The authorities in the port of Algeciras have seized 57 kilograms of cocaine that was hidden among...