Galicia has hosted the first meeting to implement the European Ports Alliance strategy against drug trafficking, focused on the port of Vigo. The European Commission demands joint actions amid the rise in cocaine shipments in commercial containers. Prosecutors and customs seek to enhance drug detection amid concerns over port corruption.
The port of Vigo has become the fourth reference for international cocaine mafias in just two years, labeled by the EU as one of the most vulnerable to drug trafficking. A few weeks ago, at the Vigo Free Trade Zone Consortium, the first meeting organized by the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office took place, attended by Rosa Morán, head of the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office at the National Court, and Pablo Varela, chief prosecutor of Pontevedra.
During the three-day meeting in early December, Customs Surveillance, led by Eva Pedruelo, presented its means to contain shipments, while private sector representatives, such as David Regades, state delegate in the consortium, addressed port management. The Prosecutor's Office prioritizes criminal prosecution of port drug trafficking and financial investigations in port areas, advocating for legislative review so the National Court handles cases of international organizations.
The EU's drug trafficking report highlights high levels of crime and corruption in supply chains, with cocaine volumes multiplied in three years. Spain recorded its largest seizure in 2024: 13 tons in a banana shipment from Guayaquil, Ecuador, raising the total to 124 tons last year, up from 37 in 2020. In 2023, the EU seized a record 419 tons, mainly in Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Customs Surveillance uses Cescan rooms with X-ray scanners to inspect containers, detecting anomalies in radiographic images. Of the 124 tons seized in Spain in 2024, more than half (77.664 kilos) arrived in containers, mainly from Ecuador, Colombia, and Surinam, with Vigo among key ports alongside Valencia, Algeciras, and Barcelona.
Trafficking adapts with methods like narcosubmarines in Galicia since 2019, driven by increased production in Colombia.
