France records jump in cocaine seizures

France said Wednesday it seized 27 tonnes of cocaine in 2022, a five-fold increase over 10 years, as Europe faces a surge in trafficking and use of the drug.

Seizures were up five percent last year compared with 2021, according to interior ministry figures, with more than half of the narcotic coming from the West Indies and France’s poverty-stricken South American region of Guiana.

Cocaine trade

As the illegal trade has swelled, most cocaine now enters Europe through northern ports like Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg and France’s Le Havre.

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With its vast cargo terminals where the River Seine reaches the sea, port city Le Havre has become the main point of entry for cocaine into France.

It saw 1.9 tonnes of coke confiscated in just a few days last February according to the ministry of public accounts, which oversees customs enforcement.

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An AFP investigation earlier this year found that more than a sixth of the cocaine consumed in France is smuggled inside the bodies of drug mules, including pregnant women, on flights from Guiana.

Drug trafficking

Last year’s cocaine haul made up part of 157 tonnes of illegal drugs seized overall by French authorities.

“The fight against drug trafficking is more than ever the mother of all battles,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters at a Paris press conference.

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Cannabis seizures also increased by 15 percent last year compared to the previous to reach an all-time high of 128 tonnes.

Law enforcement also nabbed 1.4 tonnes of heroin (up by eight percent) and 273 kilos of synthetic drugs (up by 21 percent).

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