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Interior Minister Faeser: “It is essential to prevent violence in this form from spilling over into Germany.”

Photo: CLEMENS BILAN / EPA

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to take more decisive action against international drug trafficking.

“The growing pressure from the cocaine cartels on Europe is also affecting Germany,” said Faeser, referring to important transshipment points in the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

In Germany, the focus is primarily on the port of Hamburg.

"I therefore want to achieve stricter and internationally coordinated action against the trafficking of cocaine and other drugs." Faeser is aiming for cooperation with countries in which cocaine is mainly manufactured and then distributed.

Faeser: “Identifying where pressure is being exerted on dock workers”

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 central partner for us in the fight against drug smuggling.

I would also like to establish this good cooperation in countries like Peru and Colombia with the interior ministries there.

In addition, we need to find 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." Employees in the ports must be made "resistant to corruption."

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.

Faeser refers to the escalation of violence in the Netherlands

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 that in the middle of Europe.

I really want to prevent violence from spreading to Germany in this form.”

Faeser was obviously referring to the murder of crime reporter Peter R. de Vries in July 2021 in Amsterdam.

The crime is linked to a case against the so-called Mocro Mafia, which is said to be involved in drug trafficking, murders and attempted murders.

fek/dpa/AFP