The networks that have flooded Europe with cocaine in recent years are enabled by record production in South America, more gangs involved in importation, huge profits, and increased demand in Europe. This reality is documented by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (Emcdda) and Europol, the EU’s drug and police agencies. The EU Drug Markets Report 2019 cites a range of data — the number and size of seizures, record purity levels,increases in treatment, and drug-death figures — to illustrate the cocaine trade boom. The estimates, conducted every three years, show that the value of the cocaine trade has shot up by 60% since the last analysis, in 2016, from €5.7bn to €9.1bn. Last February, the Irish Examiner reported that gardaí had seized 159kg of cocaine in 2018, compared to 81kg in 2017.

Source: Irish Examiner November 27, 2019 00:00 UTC