Abstract
This article explores thesubjective perceptions of Colombiantraffickers on the port of Rotterdam. Iidentify those factors that, from theirperspective, make Rotterdam (and theNetherlands) a low-risk area for cocaineimport into Europe. It is argued here thatwhile economic factors and human resourceshave a central impact on their keydecisions, law enforcement risks tend to besecondary or to vary very much regardingactor and type of intervention. The articleis based on my recently completedethnographic (PhD) research on Colombiansinvolved in the cocaine business in theNetherlands, and on my current research oncocaine smuggling through the port ofRotterdam.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arlacchi, P., Mafia Business (London: Verso, 1986).
Bovenkerk, F., La BellaBettien (Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1995).
Bruinsma, G. and H. van de Bunt, “Misdrijven uitBerekening,” Tijdschrift voor Criminologie 1993 (35:2), 99–109.
Van de Bunt, H. et al.,“Georganiseerde Criminaliteit en het Opsporingsapparaat: een wapenwedloop?,” Tijdschrift voor Criminologie 1999 (41:4), 395–408.
Van de Bunt, H. et al., Post-Fort. Evaluatie van het StrafrechtelijkOnderzoek (1996-1999) (The Hague: Sdu, 2001).
Cornish, D.B. and R.V. Clark (eds.), TheReasoning Criminal. Rational Choice Perspectives on Offending (New York: Springer, 1986).
DIC,Maritieme Smokkelmethoden (Rotterdam: Douane Informatie Centrum, 2000).
Dorn, N. et al.,“Drugs Importation and the Bifurcation of Risk,;; British Journal of Criminology 1998 autumn (38:4), 1998.
Van Duyne, P., R. Kouwenberg and G. Romeijn, Misdaadondernemingen(The Hague: WODC - Gouda Quint bv., 1990).
Farrell, G., “Routine Activities and Drug Trafficking:The Case of the Netherlands,” The International Journal of Drug Policy 1998 (9), 21–32.
Fijnaut, C. et al., Inzake Opsporing. Eindrapport Georganiseerde Criminaliteit in Nederland (TheHague: Sdu, 1996).
Gambetta, D., The Sicilian Mafia. The Business of Private Protection(London: Harvard University Press, 1996).
Giddens, A., Modernity and Self-Identity(Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991).
Haller, M.H., “Illegal Enterprise: A Theoretical and HistoricalInterpretation,” Criminology 1990 (28:2), 207–235.
Hobbs, D., “The Firm. OrganizationalLogic and Criminal Culture on a Shifting Terrain,” The British Journal of Criminology 2001 (41), 549–560.
Ianni, F.A., A Family Business: Kinship and Social Control in Organized Crime (New York: Russell Sage Basic Books, 1972).
Kleemans, E. et al., Georganiseerde Criminaliteit in Nederland(The Hague: WODC, 1998).
Korf, D. and H. Verbraeck, Dealers and Dienders(Amsterdam: Criminologisch Instituut “Bonger” - University of Amsterdam, 1993).
Krauthausen, C. andL.F. Sarmiento, Cocaína & Co. (Bogotá: Coediciones Tercer Mundo - Instituto de Estudios Políticos de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 1991).
Sykes, G. and D. Matza, “Techniques of Neutralization:A Theory of Delinquency,” American Sociological Review 1957 (22), 664–673.
Zaitch, D.,Trafficking Cocaine. Colombian Drug Entrepreneurs in the Netherlands (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2002).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zaitch, D. From Cali to Rotterdam: Perceptions of Colombian cocaine traffickers on the Dutch port. Crime, Law and Social Change 38, 239–266 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020691532717
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020691532717