Belgian customs authorities are ramping up surveillance at the port of Antwerp — Europe's second-largest port and its biggest cocaine entry point — deploying nine new mobile scanners and expanding container screening amid a relentless cat-and-mouse struggle with drug traffickers. Between January 2019 and June 2024, Antwerp authorities seized 483 tonnes of cocaine, more than any other port reporting to the EU Drugs Agency, though seizures dropped to 55 tonnes in 2025 from a record 121 tonnes in 2023. Smugglers are adapting by rerouting shipments through West Africa, using 'mother vessels' to transfer cargo at sea, and sending smaller individual consignments to reduce risk — prompting experts to warn that, as Antwerp tightens controls, trafficking activity is shifting to less-protected ports in France and Spain.