"The job involves smuggling the drugs out as quickly as possible without being seen. After the cocaine arrives camouflaged within the enormous flow of legal goods or hidden on ships at the port terminal, the couriers enter the scene. Sometimes, after jumping the fence. On other occasions, after waiting for days in containers equipped with toilets, sleeping bags, and junk food, or food that's easy to cook."
"In Belgium and the Netherlands, home to the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam, the largest in Europe, they are called uithalers (extractors, in Dutch). And it's a phenomenon that has put authorities on alert because criminal organizations have expanded their recruitment networks. Increasingly, young people, even minors, are being sought out to carry out these tasks, one of the most dangerous links in the drug trafficking chain."
"In recent months, cases have skyrocketed in Antwerp, the continent's second-largest port and the main entry point for cocaine trafficked into Europe. In 2024, 100 uithalers were arrested in the city of half a million inhabitants, and 16 of them were aged under 18. This year, there have already been more than 200 arrests, and 40 of those were minors when apprehended, according to the latest official figures."
Young couriers known as uithalers remove cocaine hidden among legal cargo at major European ports, often entering terminals by jumping fences or hiding in containers for days. Criminal networks have expanded recruitment, targeting local youth and increasingly minors to perform hazardous extraction tasks. Antwerp has seen a sharp rise in arrests tied to these operations, with 100 uithalers detained in 2024 (16 under 18) and over 200 arrests this year, 40 of them minors. Legal and police sources report that offenders' ages have dropped significantly, with some children as young as 13 involved in drug-related activities.
Read at english.elpais.com
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