Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has declared war on the international drug trade. The ports need to be better protected – in Germany there is a particular focus on the port of Hamburg.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has announced that she will support an intensified fight against international drug trafficking. “The ports in the Netherlands, Belgium and France are currently even more affected by international drug smuggling,” Faeser told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “The growing pressure from the cocaine cartels on Europe is also affecting Germany.” The port of Hamburg in particular is the focus of drug trafficking. “I therefore want to achieve stricter and internationally coordinated action against the trafficking of cocaine and other drugs.”
She will soon travel to South America “so that our police can work together directly and we can work together to ensure that these quantities of drugs no longer reach Europe,” Faeser announced. “Brazil in particular is a key partner for us in the fight against drug smuggling. I would also like to establish this good cooperation in countries such as Peru and Colombia with the interior ministries there.” In addition, it must be found out which companies or front companies are involved in the drug trade, “we want to identify where pressure is being exerted on dock workers.” “In the fight against smuggling, a security partnership is needed that extends from Peru to Germany.”
Faeser: “We need maximum investigative pressure”
There will be a conference in Hamburg in May with EU partners and states from South America “to discuss concrete further steps with which we can better protect our ports,” said Faeser. Drug gangs perpetrated a spiral of violence. “Investigators in the Netherlands and Belgium have even discovered torture chambers, and we have seen journalists and prosecutors threatened or even murdered there. And this in the middle of Europe. I absolutely want to prevent violence in this form from spreading to Germany.”
Drug gangs tried to use port workers for their deals, Faeser told the Funke media group. “We need maximum investigative pressure.” It’s also about good prevention. “It is particularly important to make the port employees resistant to corruption. Our authorities must better inform companies about the drug cartels’ recruitment attempts.” Companies have to take a close look at what motivates someone to start working for them – and pay fair wages so that the money from drug deals is not attractive.
Source: Stern
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