In Switzerland, five tonnes of cocaine are consumed every year, Swiss public broadcaster RTS reports. The drug arrives from Latin America, then transits European ports before reaching our shores.
This content was published on
Alexander Dürig, Julien Guillaume, RTS/ds
Faced with this white powder, police and customs officers are not on an equal footing with drug traffickers.
In eastern Switzerland, on the border with Austria, customs officers recently found a large quantity of drugs hidden in a car – a seemingly ordinary vehicle modified by drug traffickers. A hiding place was built into the vehicle, accessed by activating a complex mechanism: in particular, the gearbox had to be put into reverse, the boot opened and a magnet used to open it.
“The vehicles are always different, with different covers and sometimes very modern opening mechanisms,” explained Michael Zimmermann, team leader at St. Gallen customs, on RTS’s 19h30 programme on Friday. Between border guards and smugglers, it’s a perpetual game of cat and mouse.
“They’re always adapting, very flexible. Of course, with our resources, our random checks and our professionalism, we are constantly trying to keep up with this evolution, to be one step ahead, or at least to keep pace,” says customs chief Mario Fässler.
Cocaine hidden in children’s books
When customs officers seize cocaine, it is sent to forensic laboratories for analysis. In a Zurich laboratory, a suitcase intercepted at Kloten airport is meticulously inspected. The drug was also hidden there, between the pages of children’s books.
Traffickers will do anything to feed a booming market. Over the past ten years, cocaine consumption in Switzerland has almost doubled, thanks to falling prices. According to analyses, it is also of better quality.
In Switzerland, cocaine consumption is estimated at 5 tonnes a year. However, according to the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), the authorities seize only 8 to 10% of the total, the tip of the iceberg.
“There are already seizures on arrival in European ports, and then an interception afterwards, at Swiss level. But let’s be clear: we’re not playing on equal terms with the traffickers,” says the head of the federal judicial police, Yanis Callandret. “For traffickers, it’s ‘open bar’. In their business, the world is completely open. As far as the prosecuting and police authorities are concerned, on the other hand, we don’t have quite the same rules of the game. We don’t have a region without limits”, he adds.
Faced with this flood of cocaine, the federal police are calling for more resources. According to Yanis Callandret, head of federal policey, they are necessary because Switzerland is a central hub for cocaine trafficking.
“As it is located right in the center of Europe, whatever is going up from south to north or down from north to south will, at some point, transit through here,” he told RTS.
More
Only 4.1% of cars in Switzerland are electric
This content was published on
Electric cars are still a rarity in Switzerland. Currently, 4.1 percent of registered cars run exclusively on electricity. There are some major differences between the cantons, as the Energy Reporter from Energie Schweiz and Geoimpact shows.
Black Friday gets off to a slow start in Swiss shops
This content was published on
Black Friday has established itself as one of the biggest shopping events in Switzerland in recent years. On Friday, however, business was rather slow, especially in the stores.
The invasive Japanese beetle has been discovered in Valais, southwestern Switzerland. The canton now wants to stop the spread of the voracious plant pest.
Court overturns minimum wages in Zurich and Winterthur
This content was published on
The administrative court of canton Zurich has annulled the ordinance on the introduction of a municipal minimum wage in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Winterthur. It said the ordinances violated cantonal law.
Nominal Swiss wages up 1.5% in 2024, says latest estimate
This content was published on
Wages in Switzerland are likely to have risen slightly more in 2024 than previously assumed. However, some of this is likely to be eaten up by inflation.
CERN ends cooperation with institutes from Russia and Belarus
This content was published on
The cooperation agreement between CERN and Russia and Belarus will be terminated on Saturday, as previously announced. The move is a reaction to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
The Swiss Air Force wants to halve the number of its demonstrations and exhibitions to save money. Participation abroad is planned only in exceptional cases from the beginning of 2025.
Updated free trade deal between Switzerland and China set for 2025
This content was published on
The enhanced free trade agreement between Switzerland and China is set to enter into force in 2025. This is the assumption of parliamentarian Thomas Aeschi, president of the EU-EFTA delegation.
Swiss government sees no need for special law on Sarco suicide capsule
This content was published on
Following the first use of the Sarco assisted suicide capsule in Switzerland in September, the government sees no need for legislative action for the time being.
