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Risky business: European dock workers helping drug cartels

42:34

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March 3, 2026

European port workers who secretly work with drug gangs may be putting their lives on the line for the extra income. International syndicates need the help of local workers at ports to trace cocaine shipments and smuggle them out.

Some drivers, logistics specialists, and IT employees don't just work for transport companiesand shipping lines, but also, secretly, for drug cartels. Without the help of these local helpers, international syndicates wouldn't be able to locatecocaine shipments from South America among the thousands of containers. Nor would they be able to smuggle them out of the port, past the controls. After Rotterdam and Antwerp, the port Hamburg has become the largest European gateway for cocaine smuggling. Workers who provide services to the cocaine mafia can expect to earn four-to-five-figure sums per job. The problem is, once they're involved with the criminal organizations, it may be hard to get out. And whoever gets caught is heavily penalized.

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