Recent Trends in Cocaine Trafficking in the Netherlands and Spain

Abstract

For the last 15 years, the small country of the Netherlands has played a major role as an entry point of South American cocaine destined for the European Union; in this respect it is only surpassed by Spain. There are obvious reasons for this: the Netherlands has huge transit seaports (Rotterdam and Amsterdam) and a major airport (Schiphol) bringing goods and people from South and Central America, excolonies in the vicinity of production regions, an excellent infrastructure efficiently connecting it to other EU countries, large migration enclaves from both production and destination countries, and the tacit agreement from local law enforcement agencies that the ‘business’ should only be disturbed if it produces visible crime, violence, conspicuous consumption, or if it damages the interests of legal enterprises. In short, this type of illegal business is well embedded in the legal flow of goods, services and people (Zaitch 2002a, 2002b). Although the business has shown a remarkable stability over the years, it has also reacted to law enforcement developments (especially in Latin America) and to some geographical displacement and reorganisation of both supply and demand of cocaine.