In recent years, there has been an overall increase in drug activity in Greece and the broader Southeastern European region, as highlighted in the previous article. This rise is attributed to the presence of organized crime, primarily from Albania, which collaborates with smaller organized crime groups from other countries in the region to establish an integrated distribution network.
When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a visit to Tirana at the beginning of the year, he praised Rama for his political/judicial campaign against drugs:
“Corrupt officials are being held accountable,”
Blinken said.
“Members of organized crime are going to prison and losing their assets. So this is a very powerful process.”
What is difficult to understand is why the West is so eager to praise a politician, who is internationally accused that his cabinet transformed the country into an autocracy riven with drug money.
Outside Latin America Drug traffickers move from Morocco to Spain and from the coast of Albania to the Greek Periphery of Peloponnese and from there to Turkey. Organized crime literally sails unmolested throughout the country where the number of those involved, on a global scale, is so great that the Greek security forces are under constant pressure. For this reason, the attention has been shifted to the major ports of Greece, so that large drug shipments can be detected.
Think Global
The surge in drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe is creating challenges for both regions, as well as for the Caribbean. The combination of high levels of corruption and minimal repercussions in Europe has created a favorable environment for traffickers to operate.
To enhance stability across the continent, the European Union needs to implement stringent policies and tougher laws against those who smuggle drugs into Europe. This would not only bring greater peace to Europe but also alleviate public health problems, drug-related crises, and violence in both Europe and the Caribbean.
Greek authorities have managed to dismantle several drug trafficking rings in the past months with hundreds of kilos of illegal drugs confiscated on Greek soil. Hundreds of kilos of cocaine were found sealed in containers at the Port of Piraeus, they said, while the drugs were believed to have originated from Latin America and were headed to European countries including Greece for illegal profits.
The drugs weighed more than 210 kilos and were sealed in nylon packages hidden in containers of frozen shrimp, according to the Kathimerini newspaper. The large-scale operation was under way for months with the collaboration of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Office at the US Embassy in Athens, the Hellenic Police’s special counterterrorism unit and the narcotics squad of the 3rd Piraeus Customs Office, and with the assistance of other Greek authorities.
The rise in trafficking poses threats not just within Europe but also exacerbates existing issues in the Caribbean. These interconnected problems have raised global concern and highlighted the urgent need for change. The lack of oversight facilitates drug trafficking, with port workers often involved in smuggling networks, providing reference codes to help ground-level operatives identify the containers containing cocaine for distribution across Europe. While perishable shipping vessels remain the primary method for transporting cocaine, traffickers also use mules to carry the drug through airports, often using Caribbean territories as transit points.
The added value of Ports
Since 2020, when drug trafficking into Europe saw a significant rise, European authorities have been advocating for tighter drug regulations. The influx of drugs poses serious risks to the continent, including heightened drug use and overdose rates. Additionally, Europe has experienced a surge in drug-related violence, which has been linked to the increased trafficking of cocaine.
While Piraeus is not the main entry point for drugs to Europe, the decision to block it from the new ports alliance raises questions about the EU’s ability to guarantee security at critical infrastructure that are foreign-owned. Brussels also presented new measures and strategies to strengthen its economic security last week, including revamping FDI monitoring in critical sectors.
Customs agents have seized around 93 kilograms (205 pounds) of cocaine at the port in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki from a ship carrying bananas, authorities said, marking yet another discovery of drugs concealed in the tropical fruit.
The cocaine was found on a vessel that had sailed from Ecuador to Thessaloniki carrying bananas, which would then be delivered over land to Romania by a French company, according to Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue, or IAPR, which oversees customs operations.
Governments are grappling with the public health and security challenges posed by these drugs, particularly in the Netherlands and Greece, where the port cities of Rotterdam and Thessaloniki have become key targets for the drug trade.
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