Drug mafias are increasingly terrorizing European communities, leading to public officials being placed under protection and transforming Belgium into a primary gateway for illicit cannabis entering the continent. The illicit drug market in France has nearly tripled in value between 2010 and 2023, rising from an estimated €2.3 billion to €6.8 billion, according to a report by the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT).
A mayor in southern France, Christophe Rivenq, was moved to police protection after authorities received credible intelligence of an imminent attack by the DZ Mafia, described as France's top drug gang. Rivenq had previously received threats, including bullets in his mailbox and graffiti on his home walls. In Marseille, reality TV star and influencer Carla Moreau, 29, also received a threatening letter from the gang after her car was set alight.
Last year, French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin stated that drug dealing had become a "cancer" affecting even the smallest rural towns in France, with no areas left untouched by cocaine and cannabis.
Belgium's port of Antwerp has emerged as a significant entry point for drugs, with legally produced cannabis from Canada reportedly supplying smugglers. In 2025, customs seized 32 tonnes of cannabis at the port, a 500% increase from the previous year. In the first six months of 2026, 10.8 tonnes were seized. Investigations suggest Chinese state-linked criminal networks are managing smuggling operations, allegedly paying corrupt dock workers to divert shipping containers and evade customs inspections. These drugs are then transported to the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Italy via land routes.
Antwerp has become a dangerous battleground, with criminals reportedly using assault rifles and hand grenades to intimidate public officials. Some officials have been placed under police protection due to targeted threats and bribery attempts. Senior Belgian judge Bart Willocx warned that without immediate action, civilians risk being caught in the violence. An anonymous judge's letter published last October stated that mafia groups had become "a parallel force that challenges not only the police, but the judiciary." Guido Vermeiren, prosecutor general for the Antwerp and Limburg regions, echoed these concerns, describing Belgium as a place with "threats" and "corruption."
The violence associated with the drug trade has had devastating effects on Belgian society. Children as young as 13 have been reportedly bribed by gangs to steal cocaine from ports. Port employees who resist threats have faced attacks, including receiving letters with photos of their children and experiencing home explosions.
Gruesome incidents have plagued Belgium, including the dismemberment of a man in 2025 reportedly linked to a drug dispute, the torture and death of another man in Brussels in 2022 for allegedly stealing cocaine, and the severing of an earlobe and hand tendons of a teenager suspected of tipping off authorities. In 2023, an 11-year-old girl was killed in Antwerp after being caught in the crossfire of warring traffickers.
In the Netherlands, police discovered a sound-proofed shipping container in 2020, nicknamed the 'treatment room,' equipped with a dentist chair, restraints, pliers, scalpels, and handcuffs, intended for torture. Six other containers were set up to hold prisoners.
Meanwhile, Spain has surpassed Belgium and the Netherlands as Europe's main cocaine entry point, according to the EU Drugs Agency. The country's geography, with its long Atlantic coastline and ties to South America, makes it a natural entry point, while its proximity to Morocco facilitates hashish smuggling. The "Costa del Crime" has become a front line in the battle against narco gangs, with frequent shootings, high-speed chases, and violent punishments. Spanish police recently uncovered a sophisticated underground tunnel used to smuggle hashish from Morocco.
Recent incidents include the shooting deaths of two Scottish gangsters in southern Spain, a Swedish rapper gunned down in front of tourists, and drug smugglers unloading a shipment from a speedboat on a crowded beach. In January, Portuguese authorities seized a record haul of nearly nine tonnes of cocaine from a semi-submersible craft intercepted off the Azores archipelago, an operation assisted by UK and U.S. authorities.