The data is included in the 2025 report by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), which concluded that the figures for seizures confirm that the availability of cocaine in Europe remains high and that, for the seventh consecutive year, Member States seized record quantities.

According to the document, in 2023, a total of 419 tonnes of cocaine were seized in several European countries, compared to 323 tonnes in 2022.

Belgium (123 tonnes), Spain (118) and the Netherlands (59) accounted for almost three-quarters (72%) of the total amount seized, underlining their role as the main entry points for cocaine trafficked into Europe, the report added, although it noted that preliminary data for 2024 suggests this could change.

“Other countries are also being targeted as entry points,” says the EUDA, citing Germany, with 43 tonnes, France, with 23, and Portugal, with a total of 22 tonnes seized in 2023, up from 17 in 2022.

The large seizures made at European ports highlight how illicit drug traffickers continue to exploit commercial supply chains, the report warns, highlighting the example of Spain, which in 2024 recorded the largest ever seizure of cocaine in a single shipment - 13 tonnes - hidden in bananas originating from Ecuador.

According to the Lisbon-based agency, cocaine is the most commonly used stimulant drug in Europe – around 4.6 million Europeans aged 15-64 used it last year – and the second most commonly reported by people entering drug treatment for the first time (35,000 in 2023, compared to 31,500 in 2022).

In Portugal, data from 2022 indicate that approximately 0.2% of the population in this age group used it at least once in the last year, a figure that rises to 0.5% among those aged 15-34. Around 1,000 people started treatment in 2023, an increase of approximately 9% compared to the previous year.

The report also points out that competition in the illicit drug market is driving cocaine-related crime, including gang-related violence and homicides.

Furthermore, according to the document, there are signs that the steady increase in cocaine availability in the European Union in recent years is having an impact on consumption, as evidenced by cocaine residues in municipal wastewater, which have increased in more than half of cities. Given that the estimated time interval between the first use of cocaine and the first search for treatment is around 13 years, the increase in availability could translate into an increase in demand for treatment in the coming years, warns the EUDA, which calls for an urgent assessment of the response capacity of EU Member States in anticipation of this potential growth.