By: Staff Writer
January 13, 2026
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report, 2025, said that the overall increase in cocaine seizures in recent years appears to have occurred in parallel with increasing violence in the Caribbean, largely stemming from increasing competition between criminal gangs over drug markets.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) indicates in its 2025 World Drug Report that cocaine is mostly trafficked by sea, with nearly 80 percent of all seizures linked to maritime routes. Cocaine trafficking is mostly reported between South and Central American countries towards western European seaports, followed by maritime facilities in southern Europe. Central American countries also stand out as either departure points (e.g. Moin in Costa Rica) or transshipment hub such as Panama.
Violence related to cocaine trafficking has been particularly visible among criminal groups operating in the Americas. Violence has surged in Ecuador, for example, where the homicide rate increased from 7.8 per 100,000 population in 2020 to 45.7 per 100,000 population in 2023.
The threat of drug smuggling has drawn the attention of international observers for many years. Concerns have steered towards the implications of drug seizures to commercial maritime operations as well as tailored-made recommendations on how to mitigate the consequences linked to drug seizures.
Cocaine trafficking in particular has developed into a significant global issue, which merits special attention. According to data from the International Centre for Research and Analysis Against Maritime Drug Trafficking (CNCOM), cocaine represents the highest proportion of drug seizures worldwide. Similarly, a joint report issued by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) indicates that cocaine made up about 82% of the total amount of drugs intercepted at, or destined for, European ports between June 2019 and June 2024.
The report also said: “Cocaine seizures in the longstanding markets in the Americas, Europe and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) rose by 12 per cent in 2023 to reach 2,235 tons, representing 98 per cent of the global total of such seizures. However, the increase in cocaine seizures in the emerging markets for the drug and on its trans-shipment routes through Africa and Asia was far sharper, rising by 85 per cent from the previous year.”
Although North America remains the largest cocaine market in the world, most shipments are smuggled via unregistered boats that cross the Pacific which explains the low amount of cocaine seizures. At the same time, it should be noted that seizures at distant locations have become larger and more frequent, with increased movement to areas where cocaine value surges.
Major ports such as Antwerp in Belgium, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Algeciras in Spain serve as Europe’s primary entry points for cocaine shipments originating from Latin America. These ports not only have reported unusually high individual seizures in recent years. They also account for most of the drugs seized in Europe. The primary reason is the size of these ports which allows them to serve as major entry points for goods headed to other European locations and as hubs with medium-sized ports throughout the continent.