Peruvian police seize 3.4 tonnes of cocaine bound for Belgium
Peruvian police have intercepted more than 3.4 tonnes of cocaine this week. The drugs were set to be smuggled to Belgium hidden inside a shipment of export bananas, authorities confirmed on Saturday.
Police seized the 3,407 kilograms of cocaine on Wednesday in the northwestern region of Piura during an anti-drug operation designed to stop the shipment before it left the country, the interior ministry said. Agents intercepted a truck carrying over 3,000 packages of cocaine, valued at more than 68 million US dollars, or about 54.7 million euros.
The vehicle was en route to a warehouse about 100 kilometres from the port of Paita, where banana boxes intended for export were being prepared. According to the Peruvian presidency, the drugs belonged to a criminal organisation involving Peruvian, Colombian and European nationals, who aimed to send the consignment to Belgium.
The port of Antwerp is one of Europe's major entry points for cocaine, and drug shipments to the continent are on the rise. Over the past decade, cocaine seizures in the EU have increased sixfold. Drugs kill around 7,500 people in the EU each year, with criminal violence rising in parallel.
EU strikes back
"Europe has reached a crisis point when it comes to illicit drugs," EU Home Affairs commissioner Magnus Brunner said this week, while presenting the European Commission's new strategy and action plan to combat drug trafficking. The message of the plan is clear, Brunner added: "Europe is striking back."
The Commission’s plan includes creating a rapid alert system through the European Drugs Agency (EUDA), reinforcing prevention programmes, boosting cooperation between police and customs authorities, and strengthening partnerships with the private sector to secure European ports, including Antwerp's.
© BELGA PHOTO LIEVEN VAN ASSCHE
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