Colombia appears to be the largest producer of cocaine in the world, supplying the most cocaine to North American and Europe by sea transport.
The published United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) report – World Drug Report 2021 – and the 2021 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report revealed that Colombia accounts for two thirds of the global area under coca bush cultivation and cocaine production. This poses a great problem for shipowners and operators of vessels that depart from the Colombian ports. In 2021, the Colombian Navy broke its historical record of drug seizures with 403 tons of illicit substances confiscated.
According to the marine insurance company Skuld, as port controls become stricter, with ever more significant quantities of cocaine being seized in Latin America and Europe, criminal networks need to innovate. A report by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) stated that liquid cocaine is almost imperceptible by scanners installed in ports or airports.
On 5 February 2022, Colombian police seized around 3.5 tons of liquid cocaine at the northern port of Cartagena. This was the fifth seizure of liquid cocaine since November 2021 and came just one week after the discovery of nearly 20,000 coconuts filled with liquid cocaine, also found in the port of Cartagena, and bound for Italy. In the latest seizure, the cocaine had been dissolved and mixed in two shipments, one of organic fertilizer and the other of molasses extracted from sugar cane. Both shipments came from Urabá, a region in north-western Colombia, and authorities said they were destined for the ports of Valencia, Spain, and Veracruz, Mexico.
Traffickers are taking advantage of new technology and methods to facilitate access to maritime containers loaded with cocaine and for concealing cocaine.
EXPLORE MORE AT THE UNODC WORLD DRUG REPORT 2021
Currently, traffickers are using the rip-on/rip-off method where they avoid profiling by breaking open containers of legitimate exports to ship the drugs. They then use cloned customs seals to conceal the tampering. In most cases, the containers are contaminated as they are waiting to be loaded, meaning traffickers require access to the port areas usually through the recruitment of corrupt drivers, transport companies, stevedores, and container yard workers, to load drugs into containers.
According to Skuld, traffickers strive to continue to avoid the risks from profiling by hiding drugs in the structure of the container itself – bricks of cocaine are stuffed into cavities in the walls, ceilings, floors, and doors, or in the insulation or cooling equipment of refrigerated containers known as “reefers”.
Because of that, authorities are using scanners in ports, which are deployed both at random and because of risk profiling. In some locations, such as the port of Santos in Brazil, traffickers have retorted by contaminating containers that have already been inspected and cracking them open at the last possible moment before loading. However, traffickers are also using the “drop offs” method or contaminating the containers at sea after the ship has left the port. This modus operandi usually depends on extensive corruption among the crew but also involves armed gangs boarding ships and forcing crews to take loads at gunpoint.
Drop offs are now not only happening as ships sail enroute, but also as they pass through the waters of other nations, with sources reporting the state of Falcón in Venezuela as a particular hotspot. Authorities are tackling this trafficking method using the ship’s GPS device, which gives information on the speed of the ship. If a ship suddenly slows down or stops, an alarm sounds.
Nevertheless, traffickers are already exploring new options such as the “switch” technique, which consists of swapping drugs to “cold” or non-flagged containers in transit – this risk is especially high in Panama.
EXPLORE MORE AT THE INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT
