Steep rise in Europe cocaine use

[Gunny]

An annual report on drug use says around 4.5 million Europeans are likely to have used cocaine in the past year - a million more than in 2006.
The EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) says the increase in cocaine seizures and quantities also confirms its status as "Europe's stimulant drug of choice".

Prevalence of the drug is highest in Spain and the UK but the biggest increases are in Denmark and Italy.

more ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7107358.stm

Definitely explains some of the thinking going on in Europe right now.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Definitely explains some of the thinking going on in Europe right now.

What? But I thought our European "betters" had already legalized and barely used drugs like that?

 

[RetiredGySgt]

And then we have this article.... Ya lets legalize all drugs cause it works so well in Europe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/w...3e2b1e94e02868&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

 

[waltky]

Mebbe dey was gonna make rice pudding?...

Rice impregnated with cocaine found en-route to Europe
Fri, Sep 25, 2015 - Argentine customs agents found about 30kg of cocaine hidden in a way they had never seen before when drug-sniffing dogs found the drug had been absorbed into grains of rice headed for Europe via Africa, an official said on Wednesday.

The bust underscores the role Argentina has come to play as a shipping point for cocaine produced in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia, destined for Africa and then smuggled north to the lucrative markets of Europe. In this case, drug runners soaked rice in water that had been mixed with cocaine, Argentina’s customs agency head of narcotic investigations Guillermo Gonzalez said. When the water evaporated, he said, the rice was left invisibly “impregnated” with the addictive stimulant. “It’s a new method. This is the first time we’ve seen technology this sophisticated,” Gonzalez said.

He said that rather than employing a chemical process to extract the cocaine from the rice once it reached its destination, the traffickers likely planned to grind the grains into fine powder and sell it as cocaine. “Pure cocaine is too strong to be ingested without being cut with something. It might have been their plan to cut this shipment with the same rice that was used to carry it,” he added.

Twelve suspects, including Argentines and Colombians, have been arrested in what has been called “Operation White Rice.” The scheme was discovered on Thursday last week when drug sniffing dogs detected cocaine in a cargo of 50kg rice sacks at a warehouse in Rosario, Santa Fe.

It was kept secret for a week while security agents hunted for more suspects. “The investigation indicates we have to keep looking. We know that these are international criminal organizations,” Gonzalez said. The plan was to ship the cargo to Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony. Each of the white sacks was stamped “Country of Origin: Argentina.”

Rice impregnated with cocaine found en-route to Europe - Taipei Times

 

[waltky]

Pretty big cocaine haul in Germany...

German customs seize 1,580 pounds of cocaine from Caribbean
Feb 3,`17: Customs officials in the German port of Hamburg say they have seized 717 kilograms (1,580 pounds) of cocaine, which they estimate would have produced drugs with a street value of 145 million euros ($156 million).

The head of the Hamburg customs investigation office, Rene Matschke, said Friday that the cocaine - the largest single seizure of the drug in Germany to date - had a very high degree of purity, news agency dpa reported. It was seized on Jan. 18 after it was found in a shipping container from the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.

Matschke said that an international gang was behind the cocaine shipment and that there was a hostage-taking linked to the drugs in the Netherlands on Monday.

News from The Associated Press