After cannabis, cocaine is the most consumed drug in Europe, with millions of users and sales of around 10.5 billion euros in 2020, according to a joint EU report by law enforcement agency Europol and drugs agency EMCDDA.
Belgium appears to be at the centre of the industry in Europe, according to data collected by the EU agencies. It is the EU country that seized the most cocaine in 2020, the last year for which data is available, for a total volume of 70 tonnes mostly at the port of Antwerp, against 49 tonnes in the Netherlands, Europe's second biggest nation for seizures.
Cocaine imported into Europe from South America is increasingly re-exported to other parts of the world, notably the Middle East and Asia, making Europe "a key trans-shipment point for drugs originating elsewhere," the report said. The synthetic stimulant drug has traditionally been produced mostly in the Czech Republic and consumed in Eastern Europe, but new data shows demand is growing in Western Europe, especially in Belgium, which has become a major producer of the drug.