140 tonnes of cocaine are consumed in Europe every year

The seminar will take place during the week of 13 May in Recife, Brazil. Over 30 people will take part, all of them prosecutors and police officers from Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, France, Portugal, Panama, Peru, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Ghana.

Participants in this first course will study the investigation techniques related to drugs, chemical precursors, mules and the geo-strategy of drug trafficking by air. There will also be practical sessions at Recife airport thanks to the experience of European and Brazilian police and customs officers in the fight against drug trafficking between Europe and Latin America.

The course forms part of the AMERIPOL project, which in turn comes under the “Cocaine Route” programme of the EU to fight against cocaine trafficking from Africa and Latin America towards Europe. They are routes which the international community openly recognises. However, changes are taking place in cocaine trafficking driven by organised crime in Central America. The high degree of diversity of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of legislation and the fight against drugs makes it impossible to counter the trafficking of these substances.

Despite the advances, the Western African distribution network in Europe remains intact, handling a billion dollars’ worth of cocaine. The EU estimates that every year, in Europe, around 140 tonnes of cocaine are consumed.