Police confiscate more cannabis

12 July 2007

BRUSSELS – Federal police have confiscated five times as much cannabis in the first six months of this year than in 2006 as a whole. The number of shipments intercepted has not increased however. It seems as if drug smugglers want to limit the risk by sending fewer shipments, but larger ones.

De Morgen reported this on Thursday. “The counter is already at more than 43 tonnes so far,” says Pascal Garlement, head of the central drug enforcement agency of the federal police. “That is five times more than the 8 tonnes we intercepted last year.”

Since there has not been an increase in the number of shipments intercepted, it looks as if criminal gangs are opting to cut their risks by combining bundles into fewer, but larger, shipments.

“By opting for an all or nothing approach, you might say that the smugglers have gotten scared. They do not want to tempt fate and are setting all their hopes on a single shipment,” says head commissioner Garlement.

Subject: Belgian news