Millions in funding for research into drug smuggling via European ports
A new Belgian research project will focus on the drug smuggling that takes place via ports in Europe.
Cocaine smuggling through European ports is the focus of a new Belgian research project, and Malmö Centre for Policing and Prevention co-founder Manne Gerell and fellow researcher Kim Moeller have received 2,5 million SEK from the EU’s Internal Security Fund to participate in the project.
Together with the Belgian police, the researchers will organise workshops with police, customs, and port staff to develop a review of how cocaine smuggling works at each stage and which actors do what.
It is hoped that the analysis will lead to the targeting of mediators and brokers in the criminal world; these are individuals who connect the leaders of organised crime gangs with perpetrators, such as murderers or drivers.
The phenomenon has recently received a lot of attention with Swedish teenagers being recruited via Swedish mediators to commit violent crimes in Denmark.
“These individuals are important links in the criminal world; if we can identify and prosecute them, it can weaken organised crime,” says Gerell.
The Breaking the Broker project is led by the Belgian police and will run from 2025 to 2026.
