(Antwerp) Each tiny plastic container was barely the size of a fingernail and weighed 0.2 grams. And yet, the sachets of white powder seized in a basement in Brussels certainly testify to the vigor of the drug market in Europe.
An unprecedented wave of violence swept over Belgium and the Netherlands, whose ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam are the most popular with Latin American drug traffickers who import their goods on the continent.
In Belgium, the Minister of Justice is forced to live in a safe house, out of the reach of criminals. In the Netherlands, death is reaping more and more prominent people and the heiress to the Dutch throne may even have been forced to interrupt her university studies because of fears for her safety.
“You almost have to see it as a war,” said Aukje de Vries, the Dutch minister responsible for the country’s customs.
The leaders of the port of Antwerp, in northern Belgium, announced a new record on Tuesday: 110 tonnes of cocaine were seized there last year, 23% more than in 2021 and twice as much as five years ago.
“We are amazed,” Belgian Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem told The Associated Press. It also means that the amount of drugs entering Europe (undetected) through our ports is also on the rise. And that, of course, has a huge impact. »
Cocaine is not only a source of addiction and death, but also of violence and clashes between groups of criminals.
Antwerp has been the scene of dozens of grenade attacks, fires and small bomb attacks over the past three years. These actions are often carried out by gangs trying to appropriate a portion of the lucrative cocaine trade.
An innocent victim was mowed down on Monday night in the town most often associated with painter Peter-Paul Rubens.
“A barely 11-year-old girl who obviously has nothing to do with criminal groups is now the victim of an increasingly ruthless narcoterror,” denounced the Antwerp prosecutor, Franky De Keyzer. .
The situation has deteriorated so badly in Belgium that Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne has to go into hiding because criminal groups might want to attack him.
Murders and intimidation are also on the rise in the Netherlands, as drug traffickers vie for control of a market worth billions of dollars. The 50 tonnes of cocaine seized last year at the port of Rotterdam is also a record.
Among the most prominent victims are the lawyer of an individual who was to testify against drug traffickers and the legal reporter Peter R. de Vries, who was close to the same witness.
Unspecified threats have forced Princess Amalia, who is one day to ascend the Dutch throne, to abandon her studies in Amsterdam and return home. Security would also have been tightened around Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Drug-related crime would be involved in both cases.
In Belgium, even if the violence seems less intense, the impact of cocaine and crack remains unmistakable.
The chief inspector of the Marolles district (seen in the adventures of Tintin) has indicated that South American cocaine seems to have become the new “normal”.
Kris Verborgh explained that the basic product costs 500 euros per kilo in Colombia. The finished product is worth 70,000 euros on the streets of Belgium.
“That’s a huge amount of money that you can earn relatively easily,” he said.
The seizures made in the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam represent only a drop in the bucket of this traffic which links Colombia, Peru and Bolivia to the major European capitals.
The 11,000 inhabitants of the Marolles are among the poorest of the 1.2 million inhabitants of Brussels. But 0.2 grams of cocaine sells for 20 euros, which puts the dose within everyone’s reach.
“They are really targeting the homeless,” said Inspector Verborgh.
Dealers offer ready-to-drink crack on formerly quiet streets or even on the subway, with the full knowledge of families. The groups began to intimidate residents to ensure their silence. They also throw stones at police cars and try to prevent the police from entering certain areas.
Since mid-October, 115 arrests have been made in the neighborhood. But the groups are so powerful that a new dealer will arrive at the same place a few minutes later.
This illicit trade is attracting more and more young people. “A few years ago, you rarely saw people 12 or 14 years old,” says Verborgh. Today, they are essentially part of the bands. »
Last week, Marolles police found drugs, precision scales, a drone, pepper spray and two swords in a seemingly abandoned basement. Two teenagers were arrested, including a 14-year-old.
“It’s a problem because normally a 12- or 14-year-old should be in school,” Inspector Verborgh said.