At the border inspection post in the port of Antwerp, customs officer Sara Van Cotthem uses a safety knife to slice open a cardboard box containing an aluminium stepladder made in China. Under harsh fluorescent lights, she checks the paperwork and taps the ladder with a magnet to confirm it is truly aluminium. This routine operation is part of a daily battle at one of Europe's main commercial gateways, which handled the equivalent of 13.6 million 20-foot containers last year. While this shipment is legitimate and proceeds to Germany, many others are not.
Escalating Drug Smuggling Crisis
Customs officers at Antwerp face relentless efforts by violent criminals to smuggle drugs, especially cocaine, into Europe. Between January 2019 and June 2024, authorities seized 483 tonnes of cocaine at Antwerp, the largest amount among 17 ports reporting to the European Union Drugs Agency. The port has become a prime entry point due to soaring cocaine production in South America, particularly Colombia, and a shift in focus by Dutch drug gangs from Rotterdam to Antwerp.
Much of the cocaine arriving in Belgium is believed to be transported to the Netherlands for distribution, but enough remains to cause serious harm. Homegrown criminals have established a foothold in the lucrative trade, prompting judges to warn that Belgium risks becoming a narco-state. International drug crime threatens social stability, they say.
Cat and Mouse Game
Although cocaine seizures at Antwerp fell to 55 tonnes in 2025 from a record 121 tonnes in 2023, the problem remains formidable. "It is like a cat and mouse game," says Van Cotthem, a communications officer for Belgium's customs and excise. "Every time, the smugglers find new ways to smuggle the drugs."
Nearby, six new mobile scanners are ready to inspect suspect containers at any time. Customs authorities purchased nine scanners to speed up checks and minimise the risk of drug gangs extracting drugs before control points. In 2025, 65,000 risky containers were scanned at Antwerp, up from the previous year, with a goal of scanning 350,000 to 400,000 containers along fixed conveyor-belt machines.
Sophisticated Detection Methods
Scanning technology is evolving to counter inventive disguises. Cocaine has been found mixed with orange juice or coal, hidden in fake pineapples, embedded in cardboard and textiles, or concealed inside wooden beams and paving stones. Antwerp customs officers undergo at least a year of training to spot telltale marks on scanned containers, such as breaks in patterns or irregularities between official goods.
Kristian Vanderwaeren, head of customs and excise in Belgium, notes that traffickers are shifting routes, sending South American cocaine via West Africa to evade risk protocols based on country of origin. In 2025, Ghana became the third most significant origin for drug seizures in Belgium, behind Ecuador and Costa Rica, while Colombia slipped to fifth.
New Smuggling Tactics at Sea and Air
Smugglers are also avoiding major ports by dropping cargo at sea. "Mother vessels" from South America transfer cocaine to smaller boats or toss waterproof bundles with floats and GPS trackers into the sea for later recovery. Police have identified these practices from the Canary Islands to the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden.
Europol reported that semi-submersible vessels with antennas and modems "are likely already capable of crossing the Atlantic without a crew onboard." Vanderwaeren recalls Brazilian authorities intercepting a cocaine-laden private jet destined for Belgium. His agency is exploring ways to intercept aircraft, drones, and submarines, but acknowledges the challenges: "Very often you need the military also to support or help us with this."
Increased Law Enforcement and Regional Shifts
Authorities have hired more police, including a specialised unit to fight smuggling in the port. "We are very tough, we have put in many more state capabilities in order to tackle the problem," Vanderwaeren says. As Antwerp and Rotterdam tighten controls, smuggling has shifted to France and Spain, creating a "waterbed effect." Spain reported a record 123 tonnes of seizures in 2024, while France saw a doubling of impounded cocaine from 2023 to 2024.
Letizia Paoli, chair of criminal law and criminology at KU Leuven, notes that nobody knows exactly how much cocaine enters Antwerp. She believes traffickers are now targeting less-protected ports and changing tactics: "Traffickers more rarely send multiple tonnes in a shipment, but rather they send more shipments with small amounts in order to distribute the risk." Data shows a rise in seizures of cocaine under 100g and a decrease in large hauls between 2023 and 2025 at Antwerp.
Assessing the Narco-State Risk
Paoli considers claims of Belgium becoming a "narco state" unfounded, as drug-related corruption remains "quite rare" and "low-level," especially compared with countries like Mexico and Honduras. She found low levels of drug-related violence in Belgium but empathises with the warnings. Cocaine use is widespread, with high purity levels: "The drug traffickers here do not even bother to cut the cocaine with other substances, they sell it almost pure at 80%, 90% purity."
Paoli estimated in 2021 that EU consumers used 160 tonnes of cocaine, which police consider an underestimate. Even if the figure were 250 tonnes, it could still blend into legal trade: 2.1 billion tonnes of goods enter EU seaports annually. "You have to come to the conclusion that one way or another, the traffickers will find a way," she says.
