The Hague, 14 March 2025
A large-scale drug trafficking investigation, supported by Europol, led to the dismantling of an Ecuadorian criminal cell involved in supplying wholesale cocaine to the EU via major ports. The international operation, led by the Ecuadorian National Police (Policía Nacional del Ecuador), also involved the German Criminal Police (LKA Baden-Württemberg), German Customs (ZFA Stuttgart) and the Spanish Guardia Civil.
The criminal structure targeted in Ecuador is part of an intercontinental criminal network involved in multi-tonne cocaine trafficking via sea containers from South America to Europe. This cell arranged the transport from Ecuador to Europe, managed money flows through different companies and frontmen, and maintained contact with the suppliers. The criminal cells operating in Germany and Spain – equipped with commercial and transport companies and drivers – handled the logistical part of the operation in Europe and the further distribution of the drugs within the EU.
The action day on 13 March in Ecuador led to:
- 36 arrests in Guayaquil
- 50 house searches
- Seizures including vehicles, documents and electronic equipment.
This criminal network was importing large quantities of cocaine from Ecuador to ports in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Since the start of the investigation in 2024, national authorities have seized 73 tonnes of cocaine Ecuador and the EU, and arrested 14 individuals in Germany and Spain for their alleged involvement in the criminal enterprise.
Europol’s Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said:
“Criminal networks operate seamlessly across oceans, and our response must be equally interconnected. Strengthening cooperation with Latin American countries is essential – tackling organised crime requires a global effort. Every country along the supply chain plays a crucial role in dismantling violent criminal networks at every level, from production to distribution. Only through coordinated international action can we disrupt their operations, weaken their influence and ensure the safety of our citizens.”
Europol’s efforts to disrupt the entire cocaine supply chain
Since mid-2023, Europol has facilitated the exchange of information and provided continuous analytical support to the international investigation, part of which was driven by the work of a Europol taskforce. Europol contributed to the overall case coordination between various agencies and, on the action day, deployed two experts to Ecuador to provide analytical and specialised support.
This operation reflects Europol’s strategy to systematically disrupt criminal networks by targeting all levels of the supply chain globally, as well as connected networks, including financial flows and laundering of criminal assets. The operation illustrates the increased cooperation with non-EU countries, which are key pillars in the fight against serious and organised crime. It follows a week of significant progress in partnerships with Latin America, including the finalisation of an EU-Ecuador agreement to enhance collaboration and exchange operational information, as well as a new milestone in Europol’s cooperation with Brazil, enabling the exchange of personal data. The week concluded with Europol hosting ministerial delegations from the Latin American Committee for Internal Security (CLASI), reinforcing its commitment to deeper regional engagement.
At the same time, this operation builds on ongoing efforts by EU Member States and Europol to tackle the most threatening criminal networks within the EU, particularly those embedded in major ports. By uniting Member States in a coordinated response, the aim is to dismantle logistical networks linked to command-and-control centres that undermine the EU’s internal security. To further this effort, Europol has partnered with the ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg/Bremerhaven to publish a joint analysis report outlining the risks and challenges posed by criminal networks in EU ports.
Source – Europol
New Modus Operandi: How organised crime infiltrates the ports of Europe
Criminal networks misappropriating containers reference codes to smuggle hundreds of tonnes of drugs and illegal goods into the EU
Today, Europol has launched a joint analysis report with the Security Steering Committee of the ports of Antwerp, Hamburg/Bremerhaven and Rotterdam that looks into the risk and challenges for law enforcement posed by criminal networks in EU ports.
The EU’s critical infrastructure – notably highways, railways and ports – enable the EU way of life, where free movement of goods and people is a foundational and major factor for economic growth, personal freedom and prosperity. Criminal networks however, driven by the constant desire of growing profits and expansion of their illegal activities, are increasingly working toward the infiltration of and control over major logistical points. EU ports are examples of such major hubs, which is why the Security Steering Committee of the ports of Antwerp, Hamburg/Bremerhaven and Rotterdam, together with Europol, agreed to draft a joint analysis report assessing the threat of infiltration of port infrastructure by organised crime in the EU.
Main findings
- The use of misappropriated container reference codes (or so-called PIN code fraud) is gaining traction among criminal networks as a modus operandi for extracting illicit goods from ports.
- Criminal networks arrange the infiltration of ports by coordinating local networks of corrupted port insiders.
- As a side effect of the criminal operations in ports and the rivalry it entails, violence often spills out of major transportation hubs onto the streets of surrounding cities, where competition for distribution takes place.
Main recommendations
- International information exchange on the criminal networks’ activities in ports with Europol and amongst EU Member States should be further enhanced.
- Continuous attention must be paid to the integration of security features in the design of port infrastructure.
- Implementing public-partnerships to involve all port actors essential for tackling the infiltration of criminal networks in EU ports.
Ylva Johansson, Commissioner for Home Affairs said:
The Europol report on criminal networks in ports illustrates what we are up against. It lays bare the sophistication of criminal drug gangs, their strength, and their savagery. The drug traffickers promote corrupt actions and practices sometimes by bribery, sometimes by intimidation. We are working with authorities at all levels to strengthen systems in the fight against the criminal activity this report outlines.
Europol’s Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said:
Criminal networks work closely to evade security at land borders and at air and maritime ports. They have one thing in mind – profit. An effective response is closer collaboration between the public and private sector; this will make both sides stronger. This report, the first ever created in cooperation with the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg/Bremerhaven, is part of building this common front. This information exchange has led to deeper knowledge, which is the most effective weapon against organised crime.
Vulnerabilities of EU ports
Maritime ports in the EU handle some 90 million containers each year, but authorities are able to inspect only between 2% and 10% of them. Meanwhile, it is estimated that in the last few years, at least 200 tonnes of cocaine have been trafficked trough the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam alone. This logistical hurdle represents a challenge for law enforcement and an opportunity for criminal networks needing to access logistical hubs to facilitate their criminal activities. Such criminal networks have therefore infiltrated ports in all continents.
Europe’s three biggest ports, namely those in Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg, are among the most-targeted by criminal infiltration. The main way criminals do this is through the corruption of shipping companies’ personnel, port workers, importers, transport companies, and representatives of national authorities among other actors, whose actions are necessary to secure the entry of illegal shipments. However, this approach requires corruption of a large number of accomplices.
In order to focus their efforts and minimise the risks of losing merchandise, organised criminals are seeking new modus operandi that require the corruption of far fewer individuals. Europol’s analysis report on criminal networks in EU ports looks into one specific technique, which exploits misappropriated container reference codes. This requires the corruption of just one individual, along with either the corruption or a Trojan horse style infiltration of extraction teams, who are then paid between 7 and 15% of the value of the illegal shipment.
Source – Europol