The drug problem in international trade is growing. Increased cooperation between all stakeholders has proven it can deliver results but arguably the wider application of new technology holds the greatest promise to reduce the scale of the problem over time
The reports continue to flow in of sizable drug seizures in international maritime trade:
• Earlier this year saw the seizure of 5.7 tonnes of cocaine at the port of Southampton, the largest seizure of its kind in the UK to-date with an estimated street value of GBP450 million;
• In mid-August Dutch authorities reported the seizure of over 700 kilograms of cocaine across different shipments at the port of Rotterdam with a total street value of USD59.5 million,
• Also in August, Greek authorities discovered 34 kilos of cocaine hidden in a banana shipment.
These experiences are mirrored elsewhere – Spain, India, Indonesia, Australia and so on with the drugs captured spanning diverse types including: cocaine; heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis and others.
These reports underline the growing scale of drug activity which in global terms is identified by the United Nations Organization on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as having increased by 23% in the period between 2011 and 2021 with the involvement of some 296 million drug users. Near epidemic numbers!
Concealment of the drugs in a container is often the preferred means of gaining access to prime buying markets – Europe and the USA being two major examples.
To a certain extent the ability to deliver illicit drugs into strong user markets is a ‘numbers game’. Typically, for example, Europol reports that only 2 – 10% of containers transiting EU ports are subject to a physical inspection. With these sorts of numbers involved it is just not possible to stem the flow and as such there will be drug shipments, and indeed the shipment of other illicit goods, that go undetected.
THE FIGHT BACK
The challenge is big but there is a strong and determined fightback against the rising tide of drug supply and use. The growing size of the problem is one important catalyst behind this but there is also recognition of the wider problems that come with drug use in society. In Belgium, for instance, the government has introduced a package of measures to fight increasing drug trafficking which extend from port-based measures to higher fines for users. This package was originated in the light of increasing drug-related violence across Belgium – a scenario not unfamiliar elsewhere.
There are a growing number of broad-based measures being implemented as part of a concerted fight back to contain the ‘drug problem.’
There is the Port Security Project, launched in 2021 by UNODC, International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Interpol. The project aims to enhance the capabilities of law enforcement agencies and port management bodies against port security threats including drug smuggling. Specifically, the scheme helps countries to build capacity in security including implementing the SOLA XI-2 and ISPS Code which provide strong foundations for security assessments of both port facilities and ships.
Another example is Interpol’s I-RAID programme which aims to strike at complex criminal networks involved in drug smuggling. The programme has at its heart cooperation, coordination and sharing intelligence backed up by training and other resource as a path to taking down drug networks.
This theme of cooperation and collaboration was highly visible and proven to be successful in Operation Tin Can which ran from November 14 to December 9 in 2022. A joint operation by UN0DC, the World Customs Organization (WCO) and Australian Border Force, Tin Can involved 58 countries and achieved 43 arrests and 158 drug seizures including 98,734 kilograms of cocaine.
It is, however, the progressive application of new technology that arguably holds the most promise to contain the drug threat. Internet of Things (IoT), container telematics working with wireless sensors offers container surveillance and other possibilities that can maximise container security. Unauthorised access to a container can be detected from a remote location as can any deviation of a container from a usual routing. As smart technology is rolled out to a greater proportion of the worldwide container fleet this will, step-by-step, narrow the window of opportunity open to highly organised drug smugglers.
