According to the United Nations, Europe is the second largest illicit market in the world after the United States. Spain is the major port of entry for South American cocaine, but large quantities also transport through Portugal. US drugs official expressed concern Friday about growing quantities of cocaine being trafficked through Africa to Europe, as amounts of the stimulant reaching the United States tapers off."We are concerned because of the movement," US drug policy control director John Walters told reporters in Brussels.
He said that trafficking in 2007 had "shifted to cocaine coming out of Colombia, through Venezuela in increasing amounts, and by both maritime routes and by air, coming toward Europe."US figures showed that some 58,000 kilogrammes (128,000 pounds) of cocaine arrived in Europe from Venezuela last year -- compared to almost 29,000 (64,000 pounds) in 2000 -- while 3,600 kilogrammes (8,000 pounds) came from Colombia, well down from over 64,000 (141,000 pounds) eight years ago.
Walters, in the Belgian capital for talks with EU officials, was at a loss to explain exactly why Europe was becoming the destination of choice.
"There hasn't been a clear indication in 2007 of what may have happened with regard to flow," he said. "We need to understand this to figure out what's happening."
He acknowledged that a strong euro and higher street prices in Europe could have contributed to the change, but above all, he said, it was important to establish whether the shift was a temporary or more permanent phenomenon.
"Our goal, working with European nations, is not just to move the cocaine from the United States to Europe, our goal is to reduce the cocaine, so it is important to us what exactly is happening here," he said.
Walters said it may be necessary to re-focus the fight against cocaine trafficking slightly to Africa, to help its law enforcement bodies there better combat the drug while it is on the move.
"A movement through West Africa that destabilised the nations of West Africa further than they are already weakened state is not good for anybody," he said. "That is a critical issue."
"The question is: can we continue to accelerate efforts to reduce it at the source ... or do we also need to more extensively shift to building infrastructure in Africa to strengthen law enforcement and governance."