What happens when there is a product that is cheap to produce but very expensive to sell? Competition, of course, and large profit margins. In a normal market, prices would gradually be pushed down and the price would establish itself in a balance between production costs, supply and demand. But when the item is banned, something else happens. A cocaine seizure at the port of Antwerp before Christmas. 2022 was another record year for seizures in the Belgian port: 110 tonnes of cocaine. Photo: Belgian Finance Ministry / AP Then the battle for market share is fought in secret and with ruthless means. That is what is happening in the world market for cocaine and other drugs. It has become a global commodity that has destroyed several Latin American countries, and now threatens to do the same in Europe. Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has stated that they almost have a Latin American situation of violence. It is a sensational statement to say the least and the gang wars in Sweden are just one of several examples. It was the largest ports facing the Atlantic Ocean that marked it first: Le Havre in France, Antwerp in Belgium or Rotterdam in the Netherlands. In Urix, Belgium’s Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne says that 50 percent of Antwerp’s residents are afraid. There were over 100 cases of attacks with bombs, grenades, extortion and arson. He calls it narco-terrorism. This is Antwerp. Not Miami or Mexico City, but a city located right next to the center of political power in Europe, Brussels. Other drug routes pass through southern Europe with even weaker state institutions. The global cocaine market is huge. After a small drop in cocaine use during the pandemic, it is rising again, according to the UN agency UNODC’s annual report. In 2020, 2,000 tonnes of cocaine were produced and seizures have started to increase worldwide again. In the port of Antwerp, 110 tonnes of cocaine were seized last year alone, a fraction of what enters the European market. Never before has so much cocaine been found in Norway – much of it well hidden in banana boxes. The drug lords are gaining more and more power in Europe and South America, and have now begun to attack completely innocent people. Do we have anything to fear here at home? Program leader is Rima Iraki. With profits as high as cocaine or other drugs, the criminal gangs have the financial muscle to challenge state institutions. It happens in poorer countries where, for example, Ecuador has gone from being one of the most peaceful places in the world to being completely destroyed, but also much closer to us like in Belgium. Van Quickenborne himself has lived at a secret address and has had police protection because of the threats he is exposed to. Standing up against organized criminals is therefore costly for elected representatives in European countries as well. His warning is clear. It will affect the whole of Europe and with it all our institutions. It can start gently, for example with dock workers and customs officials on the front line being lured into a dark world, perhaps with money at first. The newspaper Le Monde writes, for example, that an access pass to the port of Le Havre can have a value of between NOK 60,000 and 100,000. It can be tempting in a society with low workers’ wages and great inequalities. But there’s no going back once you’ve set foot inside the criminal networks. After the first sums of money, comes threats and violence. Thereafter, the rotting of the state apparatus continues up the supply chain to the police and judicial authorities, if it is not stopped. It is easy to think that this does not affect us here in Norway. Although our resilience is probably stronger than in other countries, there is no reason to be naive. The gang wars raging in Sweden are fueled by drugs. They should be a reminder of how wrong things can go. Both the explosion in Linköping and Stockholm can be connected to a notorious criminal network controlled from Turkey, according to Swedish media. Photo: NTB There is a battle for markets, a battle for money, there too. Norwegian and Swedish police have started cooperation across the border. It is necessary and in any case not too early. Kripos says that the criminal Foxtrot network already operates in this country. Several large drug seizures in Norway mean that Kripos now fears that Norway may become a transit country. With that comes corruption and violence, also here at home. This summer another massive seizure was made at a Bama warehouse. A total of 2,000 kilograms of cocaine have been seized this year, compared to 117 kilograms the previous year. It may be related to the fact that European police and customs authorities have tightened controls in ports on the continent. It is still not too late to do something, but in a global world there is no such thing as a problem that only affects others.
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Crime threatens Europe – Statement
