Cocaine powerhouse: 500 kilograms seized in Luxembourg

In early February, Luxembourg customs officials noticed a cargo plane arriving from Brazil. Its route looked suspicious, which prompted a thorough inspection. As it turned out, the suspicions were not in vain: inside 3.6 tonnes of tapioca starch, officers found a huge shipment of cocaine. The total weight of the drug, disguised in five pallets, is about 508kg, and the market value of the contraband is estimated at 100 million euros.

It is the largest drug consignment ever apprehended at Luxembourg airport in the air cargo sector. Customs worked in co-operation with police and forensic experts to secure evidence, and the investigation is now under the control of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Cocaine hidden in foodstuffs is by no means a new tactic for drug traffickers. But a shipment of this magnitude points to a sophisticated criminal network. Traditionally, South America has been the main supplier of cocaine to Europe. According to the UN, up to 70 per cent of the world's cocaine production is produced in Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, and major drug cartels use a variety of transport methods, from containerised shipments to hidden consignments in legal shipments like this.

The choice of tapioca as a cover is not accidental. This white starchy powder can conceal cocaine even on visual inspection, and its prevalence in the food industry reduces suspicion. However, it was the unusual route of the shipment that caught the attention of Luxembourg customs officials.

Luxembourg is known to have become an increasingly important hub for drug transit to Europe in recent years due to its convenient location and well-developed infrastructure. Europol has previously warned that criminal networks are increasingly using airports and cargo hubs in smaller countries, where controls may be less stringent than in major metropolises.

Now, after such a major interception, we can expect to see increased inspections of cargo in Luxembourg and other European transit hubs. The question is whether the investigators will be able to find the organisers of this smuggling or whether the chain will be broken at the level of the carriers.