Ireland joins European port network to fight drug trafficking

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

1 2 minutes read

Irish authorities have set up a high-level implementation group to join a European port network tasked with tackling the booming maritime trade in international drug trafficking.

The move comes as EU officials attempt to address growing concerns about corruption among officials and port workers, sometimes through serious threats and incidents of violence and intimidation, and as EU seizures now exceed those of the United States, traditionally the largest cocaine market in the world.

In Ireland, more than 300kg of cocaine was seized in Foynes, County Limerick last December.

Two months earlier, 2.25 tonnes of cocaine worth more than €150 million was found on board a bulk carrier off the coast of Cork.

In February this year, more than half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine worth more than €30 million was seized in Ringaskiddy in Cork.

The European Drugs Agency and the EU's Home Affairs Directorate have warned that South American drug cartels are increasingly targeting “small ports” – away from the major ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam – and that this could include “all ports in all countries”, including Ireland.

The European Ports Alliance brings together the state and the private sector to strengthen intelligence gathering and cooperation between police, customs and private ports.

The alliance has a budget of €200 million to fund modern equipment to help member state customs “scan containers more effectively”, as well as a range of expertise and support.

The creation of the European initiative comes as figures released last week by the European Drugs Agency reveal that cocaine seizures in member states have reached record levels for six consecutive years.

The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction reported that 323 tonnes were seized in 2022, up from 303 tonnes in 2021 and up from 80 tonnes in 1996.

Many EU countries, including Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland, have all reported record cocaine catches in 2023.

The center said cocaine supplies are increasingly moving through ports, in shipping containers, a trend seen at the ports of Cork and Rosslare, as well as Foynes.

The European Commission declared Irish Examiner that to date, 31 ports in 17 EU members have joined the alliance.

There are no Irish ports on the list.

The Justice Ministry said work was progressing to bring together relevant departments and state-owned enterprises to join the alliance.

“Ireland supports the European Ports Alliance public-private partnership, which is a welcome step in the fight against organized crime,” he said.

“A co-ordination working group for the implementation of the public-private partnership in Ireland has been established and is made up of representatives from the Department of Justice, the Department of Transport and Revenue, to reflect the cross-cutting nature of the initiative.”

It states that representatives of the Dublin Port Company and Rosslare Europort “have been identified as key stakeholders” in the Irish context.

The Port of Cork, also a statutory authority, is the country's third national port.

The statement said port representatives “will bring invaluable expertise and knowledge to the co-ordination working group and to the successful implementation of this initiative in Ireland”.

Speaking at the Observatory's launch of the 2024 European Drugs Report last week, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said: “The European drugs market is evolving rapidly and is unstable, fueling violence and corruption.

“And the flow of illicit drugs to Europe passes in particular through our ports.”

Meanwhile, the deaths of two men in the Midwest and Dublin last week are being investigated to determine whether they are linked to nitazene.

Although one of them is strongly suspected to be drug-related and the second death warrants further investigation, toxicology test results will be crucial in proving whether nitazene was involved.