The Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Francophone centrist) has announced that Belgium’s Federal Government is allocating half a million euro to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The money will be used by the UN agency to bolster its efforts to combat drug trafficking from South America. Mr Prévot made the announcement during a visit to Columbia on Thursday.
Belgium to give UN agency 500,000 euro to help combat drug trafficking from South America
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On Monday, the Belgian delegation visited a farm that receives support from the United Nations and has switched from coca cultivation to the cultivation of coffee. The farm is part of a cooperative that encourages farmers to stop growing coca and start growing other crops such as coffee, cocoa, avocados or produce honey. Mr Prévot described the project as "positive" and added that it is worthy of Belgium’s support.
In Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the region in which the farm is located, there are no longer any coca fields left. 20 years ago, 1,300 hectares of the region’s farmland were used for the cultivation of coca.
70% ends up in Europe
Drug trafficking remains a major issue in Columbia. Mr Prévot also visited the port of Santa Marta on Colombia's Caribbean coast. There the Belgian Foreign Minister denounced. "the extraordinary ingenuity of the cocaine dealers".
Colombia the world's largest producer of cocaine. Around 70% of the cocaine produced there ends up in Europe. The port authorities at Santa Marta intercept several tonnes of cocaine every year. Often the drug is mixed with other substances. 14 of the 22 shipments seized so far this year were destined for Antwerp.
Drugs ship from Santa Marta seized in Antwerp
Despite all shipments from Santa Marta being scanned, shipments containing narcotics continue to be intercepted by customs here. Since the start of the year, 2 tonnes of cocaine from Santa Marta have been seized in Antwerp.
It is believed that the drugs were either loaded during or after inspection or possible even at sea. For 2 years now a Belgian police liaison officers has been working in Bogotá to help strengthen the exchange of information between the Columbian police and the police and customs here in Belgium.