Active - record seizures annually
Port Wars
The battle for Europe's cocaine gateways - Rotterdam vs Antwerp
0 suspects5 events4 locations2015 - present
// intel brief
The ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp have become the primary entry points for cocaine into Europe, handling an estimated 80% of all cocaine entering the continent. In 2022, Antwerp alone seized 110 tonnes of cocaine. Criminal networks have deeply infiltrated port operations, bribing crane operators, truck drivers, and customs officials. "Uithalers" - young men recruited to physically extract drugs from containers - risk years in prison for payouts of EUR 50,000-100,000. The port authorities have invested hundreds of millions in AI scanning technology, but the sheer volume of containers (30+ million annually) makes comprehensive screening impossible.
// timeline
2018Antwerp seizes 50+ tonnes of cocaine for first time
2021Record 89.5 tonnes seized in Antwerp; 40+ tonnes in Rotterdam
2022110 tonnes seized in Antwerp - all-time record. Port installs new scanners
2023Multiple uithalers arrested; AI scanning deployed in Rotterdam
2024Belgium deploys military to guard Antwerp port perimeter
// key locations
Port of Rotterdam
Europe's largest port
Port of Antwerp
Europe's second port
Maasvlakte II
Deep-sea container terminal
Deurganckdok, Antwerp
Container terminal
// operation map
// other files
Marengo
The trial that exposed the heart of Dutch organized crime
The Cocaine Route
How billions in cocaine flows from South America to European streets
EncroChat
How police cracked the criminal underworld's secret phone network
Mocro Maffia
The rise of Dutch-Moroccan organized crime networks in Europe
Rif Connection
Morocco's Rif Mountains - the world's largest hashish production zone
Isaac "Boom" B.
From Katendrecht to cocaine kingpin - the rise and fall of Black Mamba
Taghi Dynasty
How Ridouan Taghi ran a criminal empire from the most secure prison in the Netherlands
Sky ECC
The crack of the century - how Belgian police broke the criminal underworld's encrypted phone network
Taghi's Hitman
The rise and fall of Gerel P. - Ridouan Taghi's most trusted assassin, from Utrecht to a Brazilian prison cell
Audi Gang
Dutch ATM bombers terrorizing Germany - high-speed Audis, explosives, and a trail of destruction across the border
The Invisible Baron
The shadowy rise and violent world of Peter van D, Limburg's unseen drug lord.
The Cocaine War
How the theft of 1,400 kg of cocaine from Antwerp ignited a six-week war across the Netherlands
The Helicopter Escape
Benaouf Adaoui - the man who ignited the Mocro War and planned one of the Netherlands' most spectacular prison escapes
Antwerp Drug War
How Europe's second port became a warzone between rival cocaine clans
Kompania Bello
The Albanian cocaine federation run from behind prison bars in Ecuador
keywords
port / haven / rotterdam / antwerp / antwerpen / cocaine / uithaler / container / antwerp-war / nachtwacht