At the end of September, the largest drug seizure ever made in Ireland was made off the coast of Cork in the south-east of the country. This interception of 2253 kilos of cocaine is not an isolated incident. Ireland is being found by smugglers because cartels are taking advantage of a number of weak spots.
Ireland is not the most logical transit country for coke. So it seems. It is located far from mainland Europe and is not connected to the major distribution networks to move the cocaine quickly, as we see happening in the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. How did the country become so popular among the cartels?
Rugged coastline
The answer is obvious. The country has a 3100 kilometer long coastline with rocky outcrops, coves and bays that are invisible. Drug packages regularly wash up here, often part of larger loads. Furthermore, due to budget cuts, the country only has one patrol ship to protect this coast, a stretch of ocean ten times the size of the country itself. The result is easy to guess. The chance that a large transport will be intercepted is minimal. In the past, the Navy had four ships at sea at a time.
Drug consumption in Europe
This combined with growing consumption results in increasingly large drug loads coming to Europe via Ireland. It appears to be an inverse distribution. Yet it is also likely that a lot of drugs end up in England via Ireland.
The NOS writes that, according to conservative estimates, more than 10 billion euros are involved cocaine is traded in the EU. There is a larger supply from South America that meets this great European need. It is therefore inevitable that more and more cocaine will come in. For every cargo intercepted, a multiple reaches its destination.
Source: NOS.nl (NEITHER)
