Balkan smugglers have mastered the smuggling of cocaine from South America to Europe. The police are trying to fight them both on land and at sea – writes Reuters. Although these gangs are not monolithic and engage in bloody disputes, the authorities have collectively called them the “Balkan cartel”, which is difficult to penetrate and even more difficult to neutralize – adds Reuters.
Cocaine production in South America has increased over the past decade, and Balkan traffickers have found themselves in a prime position to fuel European demand.
They now dominate the complex logistics of transporting cocaine from production labs in the Andes to street sellers in Paris, London and Berlin, making Europe the world's largest cocaine market, Reuters notes.
Balkan smugglers had an advantage due to contacts with the diaspora on both sides of the Atlantic and the infiltration of maritime transport, which is responsible for 90 percent. cocaine trafficking – say anti-drug agents from the USA, Europe and Latin America.
Spanish police intercepted a yacht with 700 kg of cocaineEuropol
Balkan smuggling groups avoid the vertical territorial structure typical of Mexican or Colombian cartels. They operate in small cells composed of people with multiple identities and passports, which are highly mobile and capable of moving astonishingly large amounts of cocaine, experts explain.
The key to increasing the number and strength of Balkan smugglers
Although these gangs are not monolithic and engage in bloody disputes, the authorities have collectively called them the “Balkan cartel”, which is difficult to penetrate and even more difficult to neutralize – adds Reuters.
Anti-drug officials from the US and Europe emphasize that “Balkan fingerprints” can now be found on most cocaine entering Europe. At the port of Antwerp, Belgium, the main European gateway for South American cocaine, authorities seized a record 116 tonnes last year.
The services say that experience in shipping, smuggling and migration in the Balkans are the key to the increase in the number and strength of Balkan smugglers. However, they stay away from the US because they do not want to enter into conflict with the Mexican cartel criminals dominating there – notes Reuters.
Main photo source: Europol