Nearly $1B in Drugs Seized at Dutch Ports as Smuggling was Reduced in 2024

Dutch officials highlighted overall progress last year in their efforts to curtail drug smuggling through Rotterdam and the other seaports. They reported intercepting narcotics with a wholesale value of €917 million ($955 million) while highlighting through cooperation and working with the shipping industry they were able to make significant progress in reducing drug smuggling.

Gathering for the first joint report involving Customs, Seaport Police, and special law enforcement units, they highlighted that combating drug smuggling in the ports is done by many teams with varying compositions and different perspectives. While the “Hit and Run Cargo” team focuses on drug seizures and arrests within criminal organizations, they reported other teams work on structurally disrupting various modus operandi or have been busy for years on a daily basis with the processing of extractors who have been arrested.

Work is being done to …