Are Nord Africans over represented in the European Drugs Mafia?

 

Are Nord Africans over represented in the European Drugs Mafia?Bovenkant formulier

 Yes, individuals from North African diasporas are prominently represented in specific sectors of the European drug market, particularly in the importation of cocaine and hashish. This involvement is highly concentrated in specific regions and organized networks rather than uniformly distributed across the continent. 

 

Key Centers of Operation

• The "Mocro Maffia": This is a prominent umbrella term for interconnected criminal organizations primarily composed of Dutch and Belgian citizens of Moroccan descent, operating mainly out of the Netherlands and Belgium. These groups play a major role in importing vast quantities of cocaine through the European gateway ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. 
• France: Networks with North African diaspora ties are major actors in the French drug trade, utilizing the country as a transit corridor for narcotics. 

Factors Driving This Representation

• Transnational Supply Chains: Many of these networks leverage long-standing family and cultural connections to the Rif mountains in Morocco (a major global source of hashish), which initially served as a springboard into larger-scale narcotics trafficking. 

ISS Africa

• Logistics and Corruption: Latin American cartels often partner with these North African-led networks because of their established capacity to corrupt port officials and move product through busy container ports. 

ISS Africa

• Vulnerabilities in the Pipeline: European and North African authorities have highlighted the exploitation of unaccompanied North African minors by these organized crime groups to distribute narcotics on an industrial scale. 

A Diverse European Landscape

Criminological and law enforcement reports, including data from Europol, emphasize that the European drugs mafia is highly fractured and diverse. Control of the European market is shared among a variety of actors based on ethnicity and geography: 

• Balkan Cartels: Networks from the Western Balkans (Albania, Serbia, Montenegro) control a significant share of global cocaine procurement and maritime transport to Europe. 
• Traditional Mafias: Italian syndicates like the 'Ndrangheta maintain a central role in large-scale, transnational wholesale drug brokering. 
• Other Groups: Turkish and Albanian groups often control large swaths of the heroin and cannabis trade