Drug trafficking is big business, bringing in a fifth of all profits from organised crime. It ravishes communities, endangers businesses, strains government institutions, and drags down the wider economy.
https://www.europol.europa.eu/crime-areas-and-trends/crime-areas/drug-trafficking/
– COCAINE AND HEROIN
With a retail market estimated to be worth at least EUR 5.7 billion annually, cocaine is Europe’s most commonly used stimulant. Use of the drug may be declining slightly, but availability may be increasing.
Coca-bush cultivation appears to be on the rise in the only countries it is produced in: Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. Exactly how much cocaine is produced is not clear, with varying and sometimes mutually contradictory estimates being produced.
Cocaine is trafficked to Europe by both sea and air, primarily via Colombia, Brazil and Venezuela. The Caribbean and West Africa are important transit areas, while Central America appears to be becoming more important. Cocaine is also trafficked via routes for other drugs, such as cannabis via North Africa and heroin through East Africa. Cocaine is smuggled into Europe in many ways, from air couriers and express packages to private yachts and jets. The use of maritime containers is of increasing concern. A huge array of concealment methods is used, including those that require chemical extraction.
https://www.europol.europa.eu/crime-areas-and-trends/crime-areas/drug-trafficking/cocaine-and-heroin
Economic journal 