Belgium has a drug problem. Specifically, Belgium has a cocaine problem which has led to an explosion of related crimes in Antwerp, whose port accounted for 40% of all cocaine seizures in the EU in 2020. Not purely for Belgian consumption, Antwerp has become the transit hub for smuggling operations across the continent and authorities are overwhelmed.
So much so in fact that the city's mayor has called on the army to be deployed in the port area to step up searches and, should the need arise, apply more force to the campaign against class A substances. It's not the first time that Belgium's military has been cited as the last resort to the issue, though whether they would be able to stem the incessant deluge of drugs moving through the port is unlikely.
Experts explain that the trade is so lucrative that vast quantities of the drug are shipped in the expectation that the majority will escape searches. Belgium's justice minister estimates that just over 10% of drugs are intercepted (he was less precise on cocaine specifically). But given that Belgium seized a record 100 tonnes of cocaine last year it's safe to assume that A LOT more is making it through the net.
Hardly surprising given the drug's high street value and tiny size – few substances garner such a high price tag for such a small physical size. Unlike cannabis (the most consumed drug in the EU), whose distinctive pungent odour practically declares its presence to those in the vicinity, cocaine is more easily concealed (if you can smell it you're probably up to something).
Moreover, Belgium's entire infrastructure seems woefully ill-equipped to tackle the enormity of the problem. Even quantities of cocaine that are found by port authorities are too much for the incinerators to burn. Whether Belgium's forces would be much of a deterrent for drug barons running international cartels is unclear, but some ministers have affirmed that the army is not sufficiently trained to deal with networks that are spread across the country and have infiltrated the very systems supposed to guard against the trade.
Is Belgium bound to lose the drug war? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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