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Justice Minister: European Harbor Alliance to Strengthen Drug Fight

Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard emphasized the importance of the European Ports Alliance to combat narcotics smuggling into Europe. The Alliance aims to enhance collaboration among ports, police, authorities, and private companies to address security vulnerabilities and standardize container scrutiny across EU ports. The initiative, launched in Antwerp, Belgium, is backed by an EU Commission plan to invest nearly 200 million euros for better scanning equipment to aid customs in detecting drugs. The majority of smuggled drugs are cocaine, with record seizures in Belgium and the Netherlands. Cocaine trafficking is linked to a violence spiral and accounts for half of the EU’s homicides, according to EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson. Belgium’s focus during its EU Presidency will be combating this organized drug crime. In Denmark, cocaine is mostly smuggled from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain, with challenges also present at Danish ports.