A Drug Lord Tries to Defend Himself
In the final episode of the series, we are taken to the Bunker, the windowless fortress on the outskirts of Amsterdam, where the trial of the Netherlands’ most dangerous criminal takes place.
For Whom the Underworld Shivers
“The cocaine trade is the only trade I know where you can go from a guy on a scooter with a North face jacket dealing small amounts of cocaine, to a kingpin who owns millions and millions worth of real estate in Dubai,” said Laumans.
Record Cocaine, Raging Violence: Antwerp’s Year-in-Review
The murder of an accused drug kingpin’s niece in Antwerp on Monday night came just hours before a joint Belgian-Dutch announcement that 2022 was, once again, a record-setting year for cocaine seizures in the port of Antwerp. The 11-year-old girl died after unknown gunmen fired into a garage in
How to Sneak Metric Tons of Cocaine Into Europe: The Art of “Transshipments”
A Freelancing Montenegrin Ex-Boxer and Smuggling on the High Seas After US authorities discovered nearly 20 metric tons of cocaine aboard several ships in the port of Philadelphia, prosecutors made an astounding assertion. All this cocaine, the largest amount seized in US history, had actually been destined for Rotterdam, Europe’
BELGIUM’S “WHITE CHRISTMAS”: Cocaine Goes Bananas For the Holidays
Belgian customs officials in Antwerp seized nearly ten metric tons of cocaine hidden in banana shipments in multiple busts last week in what customs officials say is a “White Christmas,” as tons of cocaine flood into the low countries ahead of the holidays. In two raids in Antwerp, authorities found
A troubling spate of bombings in Antwerp
Nightly bombings last week appear to have been replaced by nightly shootings in Antwerp as criminal gangs fighting to control cocaine imports at the port appear to have escalated tensions that have been simmering all summer. On Monday evening, a man was shot to death in the Antwerp neighborhood of
Antwerp Gang Wars Heating Up
The murder of a convicted Dutch drug trafficker in front of a hangout for a notorious Antwerp based smuggling clan is roiling the Antwerp underworld. Some observers I've talked to fear a return to the gang wars of the last decade as the premier drug traffickers of Europe
Cartels are smuggling elephant-sized loads of cocaine to Antwerp
Belgian and Dutch police announced on Wednesday that nearly six metric tons of cocaine hidden in a shipping container of rice from Paraguay was intercepted in the Port of Antwerp last month. The bust highlights the ports of Belgium and Holland as critical byways for industrial scale smuggling of cocaine
The Daylight Murder Sowing Fear in Dutch Society
The assassination of famed Dutch crime reporter Peter De Vries on a busy street full of pedestriams outside an Amsterdam television studio a year ago wasn’t just the wrath of a fugitive drug kingpin, but an attack designed to terrorize Dutch society, prosecutors said during a trial of some
Last Days of 'Pablo Escobar' of Brazil
Forged passports, millions in euros cash and even a fake COVID death certificate couldn’t keep the cops from finally busting a former Brazilian army major who rose to become one of the largest drug smugglers on the planet. After getting kicked out of the army for drugs and money
Fresh Cocaine at Your Local Supermarket
In a darkly comedic episode in the global drug trade, the produce section of three Czech supermarkets transformed into crime scenes over the past week when hapless stockists discovered 840kg of cocaine hidden in a shipment of bananas. The delivery was found in the towns of Jicin and Rychnov and
The "Hotel Container" Phenomenon
Last week, Dutch cops in the port city of Rotterdam made a big announcement: On two separate occasions this past May, they discovered suspected Albanian drug traffickers secretly living inside shipping containers, protecting tons of cocaine shipments crossing the Atlantic from the Dominican Republic. Rotterdam, Europe’s biggest port, is