Just over 1.5 tonnes of cocaine have been seized during a major international operation against drug smuggling at sea headed by Belgium. "Operation White Sea III" lasted a month. Twelve suspects were arrested.
"In Western Europe, more and more scanning occurs at ports, leading more and more criminals to look for other ways of landing drugs. Drugs are thrown into the sea, only to be recovered later on. That way, gangs avoid customs' scanners that detect cocaine" says Kristian Vanderwaeren, a top Belgian customs officer
The fight against drug smuggling takes place not only in ports, but also on the high seas. Criminals are extremely inventive: drugs are dropped at sea, but also transferred onto smaller vessels or attached to the hull of the ship. "Using containers is still the most common way of smuggling drugs, but there is also a clear trend towards hiding drugs on board or even under the ship itself," he says.
That is why the customs and navies of Spain, Portugal, France, Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Poland, in an operation led by Belgium, spent a month searching the seas for drugs. Boats, helicopters, coastguard planes and divers were all deployed. "They follow ships to check that the vessels are not throwing drugs into the sea, and if it is necessary, they can also board them."
The result: 79 ships were checked and a total of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine was seized during operations in Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Britain and France. 12 people were arrested.
DRUG HAULS
This is not the first time such an operation has been held at sea. Last year, almost 5.5 tonnes of cocaine were seized during Operation White Sea II.