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Dutch cocaine trade: The perspective of Rotterdam cocaine retail dealers

Article  in  Crime Law and Social Change · January 2005

DOI: 10.1007/s10611-005-9001-5

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 Dutch Cocaine Trade:
The perspective of Rotterdam cocaine retail dealers

IVO Addiction Research Institute Rotterdam

Heemraadssingel 194
3021 DM Rotterdam
The Netherlands
Tel 31-10 - 4253366
fax 31- 10 - 2763988
Email: gruter@frg.eur.nl

1
Dutch Cocaine Trade: The perspective of Rotterdam cocaine
retail dealers
PAUL GRUTER and DIKE VAN DE MHEEN
Institute of Criminology of the Erasmus University Rotterdam and Addiction Research Institute
Rotterdam, the Netherlands (e-mail: gruter@frg.eur.nl)

One starts using drugs and at a certain moment you get an offer to earn
some money. Then you start to know other people. The money is easy to
earn. And when you’ve got a background of prison sentences, then there’s
little to choose, because a normal boss won’t employ you. So there’s not
much choice. I chose to start dealing drugs (R14).

Abstract
This article based, on 38 in-depth interviews with Rotterdam cocaine retail dealers, aims
to present a clearer picture of how cocaine supply lines in the Netherlands are organized
in order to fine-tune policy with respect to crime, public order and safety on the different
trade levels. On the retail level the market for cocaine is strictly separated in a market for
crack cocaine versus a market for powder cocaine. The crack dealers are often hard drug
users themselves living in relatively poor circumstances. Although dealing cocaine is
their main activity, they tend to be involved in other activities related to the drug scene,
e.g. smuggling cocaine via Amsterdam airport. The cocaine distribution line for supply
on the local market is seldom more than two steps. Because the supply for the Rotterdam
cocaine retailers comes mainly from small-scale imports, successful police operations
against large-scale imports of cocaine will have little influence on the local cocaine
supply in the Netherlands.

1. INTRODUCTION: COCAINE DISTRIBUTION CHAINS

Besides (public) health problems, drug use and drug trade cause many problems
in the field of crime, public order and safety. To realise an appropriate policy for these
fields, more insight is needed in the way drugs are distributed. At the neighborhood level
this mainly concerns the retail drug trade1, whereas for the municipal, region and national
policymaking the higher echelons (import, wholesale and middle trade) are more
important. Moreover, organisation at the higher levels is an important deciding factor in
the operational management of the retail trade. For effective policies aimed at controlling
drug-related problems more detailed information is needed about the successive steps of
drug distribution. Therefore, in the fall of 2001 a study was started to map the entire
domestic chain of drug distribution, with the city of Rotterdam serving as an example.
It was decided to concentrate on the cocaine market only, because the trade and
consumption of this drug causes most crime and nuisance, particularly the trade in crack
(Barendregt et al., 2000; Nabben and Korf, 1999). The market for powder cocaine is
generally less problematic as far as crime and nuisance levels are concerned. Although
this study aims to cover the entire cocaine distribution chain, the first part of the study
concentrates mainly on the retail trade in crack.
The study question for the whole research project is:
What are the features of the distribution chain of the cocaine trade seen from the
perspective of the retail dealers, the middlemen, the wholesale dealers, organizing
importers?
We report here on the first part of the project which describes distribution chains
experienced by the cocaine retail dealers in Rotterdam. This city was chosen because it
functions as one of the main seaports for cocaine import (Criminaliteitsbeeld Rotterdamse
Haven 2002). The first part of the project focuses on the retail trade and the second phase
of the study will concentrate on the higher levels of the cocaine trade. Because the study
is still in progress the results of the two phases of the study will be published separately.
The first part of the study has been divided into three sub-themes.

2
 A. A biography of Rotterdam cocaine retailers and how way they became involved
in selling cocaine.
B. Income acquisition of Rotterdam cocaine retailers.
C. Operational management of the Rotterdam cocaine retailers and the chains of
distribution for the local cocaine trade.

Cocaine: Import and Consumption in the Netherlands

Despite the confiscation of large quantities of cocaine, the drug trade is considered one of
the fastest growing branches in international crime (Dorn 2000). As far as world
production of cocaine is concerned, at the end of the 20th century it was estimated that
between 800,000 and 900,000 kilos is produced each year (UN, 2003). Around 40 percent
of international cocaine transports is confiscated, which means that there is around
500,000 kilos left for trade and consumption. Approximately 160,000 tons are exported to
Europe, with Spain (80,000 kilos) and the Netherlands (40,000 kilos) being the main
gateways (Zaitch 2002b) followed by the seaport of Antwerp in Belgium
(Criminaliteitsbeeld Rotterdamse Haven 2002). Most of the cocaine import to the
Netherlands comes via Rotterdam. The first large confiscation in the Netherlands was
reported in 1988 (208 kilos) (Weijenburg 1996), but the largest quantity (4,050 kilos) so
far – was found in August 2003 on a boat which arrived from the Dutch Antilles.
Consumption of cocaine in the Netherlands has been steadily growing for some
years and for 2003 was estimated between 4,000 and 8,000 kilos, divided between crack
cocaine and powder cocaine (Korf and Verbraeck 1993). Crack is often sold to poly-drug
cocaine users (i.e also users of heroin), whereas powder cocaine is mainly sold for
recreational use (see e.g. also Power et al. 1995). In 2001 approximately 28,000 persons
in the Netherlands (0.4 percent of the population aged over 12 years) used cocaine in the
month before questioning (Van Laar et al., 2002),2 meaning that the number of cocaine
users has doubled since 1997 (0.2%). The consumption of cocaine is not evenly spread in
the Netherlands; e.g. Rotterdam has three times as many ‘last month’ consumers than in
the Dutch countryside (Abraham et al., 2002). The number of problematic crack users in
Rotterdam is estimated around 4,000 persons (GGD Rotterdam 1999) and the majority of
them are poly-drug users (cocaine and heroin combined).

From import to retail level: domestic distributions chains

In the literature (e.g. Adler 1985; Waldorf et al. 1991; Korf and De Kort 1990) the
different levels of drug distribution, different “levels” generally refers to different traded
amounts; in theory, however, it is possible to sell a similar amount to the next client. In
these cases, it seems more logical to describe the transactions in terms of ‘steps’ in
distribution, as do Korf and Verbraeck (1993) who studied the organization and structure
of the Dutch drug trade in relation to the activities of the drug-controlling authorities.
They suggest that there are always several steps between the import and retail level.
They also claim that retail dealers are not restricted to a specific level of trade, e.g. a kilo
trader may also be active in the market for grams if the opportunity arises. Zaitch (2002)
who studied the participation of Colombians in the Dutch cocaine trade has a similar
view: the Colombians active in the field of cocaine trade in the Netherlands sometimes
combine several levels of trade in one person (importer, middleman and even retailer).
The representation of cases where import of cocaine for the Dutch retail market is
managed by both large-scale importers and small-scale smugglers seems a more
reasonable approach than one that assumes only pyramidal (hierarchic) structures and
mainly large scale import of cocaine. It seems that the organizational forms are highly
differentiated and very flexible. The idea that the domestic drug trade does not have solid
top-bottom structures controlled by one ‘big boss’, is supported by many authors (e.g.
Korf and De Kort 1990; Adler 1985; Reuter 1983; Dorn 2000, Pearson and Hobbs 2001;
Ellis et al. 2002). The different levels of cocaine trade often involve many small
entrepreneurs buying and selling relatively small amounts.

3
Distributive trade: an important role for bridge builders and middlemen?
Some drug traders seldom see the trade substance, because they function only as
intermediaries (Korf and Verbraeck 1993; Pearson and Hobbs 2001; Kleemans et al.
2002); this role is characteristic for drug middlemen. Kleemans et al. (2002) describe
them as bridge builders i.e. persons who can close structural holes in the social structure
allowing potential trade partners to connect. Pearson and Hobbs (2001), studying the
English drug middle market concluded that most of their informants within the drug
scene consider themselves as persons in the ‘middle’ of it. These authors consider that to
construct a model concerning distribution levels in drug trade based on the views of
respondents does not much sense without first clarifying, what is meant by ‘middle
market’. Therefore, in the current study focusing on distribution structures in the
Rotterdam cocaine trade, the ‘middle market’ is defined as covering concerns all
‘domestic’ levels between import and retail.

2. RESEARCH METHOD
The empirical data for the first part of this study are drawn from 38 in-depth interviews
with Rotterdam low-level retail dealers. Nearly all the respondents were recruited via two
community fieldworkers who were formerly employed by the Addiction Research
Institute Rotterdam within the framework of the Rotterdam Drug Monitoring System.3
These two recruiters are experienced low-level retail cocaine dealers and also frequent
users of their own merchandise.
During the in-depth interviews the respondents were invited to speak about their
own cocaine trade, and about the rest of the domestic cocaine distribution chain. Most
interviews were held in the Institute (2002/2003) and took on average 1.5 hours each.
The conversations were recorded, typed and then analyzed with the aid of a computer
software program (Kwalitan 5.1).

3. RESULTS

3a) Biography of Rotterdam cocaine retailers

Age and ethnicity

There were 38 respondents (37 men, 1 woman) with a mean age of 40 years (range 26 to
54 years). Of these, 13 had a Dutch background, 14 were of Surinamese origin, 7
Antillean, 3 Moroccan and 1 of Ghanaian origin.

Upbringing and education

Many of the respondents grew up in families with disturbed living conditions, e.g. alcohol
problems and absent parents. Most respondents left their parental home at an early age
and low grades at school. Only one third of the respondents finished elementary school,
whereas 21 attended lower technical school, but most left without a certificate. After
leaving school most had their first working experience, but often for a very limited
period, in the building or shipping industry, catering or in shops.

Drug use and living conditions

At the time of the interview nearly three quarters of the 38 cocaine dealers were
frequently using their own merchandise, mostly in the form of crack and often in
combination with heroin. Eleven persons of the group did not use hard drugs at the time
of the interview, but 9 had done so in the recent past. Most of the respondents started
using drugs at an early age, generally starting with soft drugs (hashish). Nearly all used
hard drugs before they were 20 years of age. For those currently older than 40 years their
first hard drug was heroin, whereas the younger persons generally started with cocaine.
The amount of drugs used generally depends on the financial resources. In the
summer of 2003 a crack user (often also a heroin addict) needed between 25 to 50 euros
to buy their daily needs on the Rotterdam drug market. However, on a monthly basis,

4
most of the self-using cocaine dealers do not earn enough with their drug transactions to
support their own use, even when including their social security benefit, which most of
them receive.
Due to their own (expensive) drug use and relatively low income from selling
drugs, the living conditions of the respondents are often poor. Several of them have no
home and live on the streets. Others stay temporarily with family, friends or in relief
houses. Some cocaine dealers have sufficient financial means to maintain a home with a
regular household. Finally, a few respondents state that they can live a luxurious life
based on their daily drug dealing.

There’s lots of money involved. I’ve got about 450 euros in my pocket,
but you don’t ask, how much I’ll have at the end of the day when I get
home. I can make a nice living. Actually my living conditions are quite
luxurious; I hope to be able to stop working within five years (R37).

On the other hand, those who do earn enough from drugs, spend the money very easily.
The interviewed dealers seem to be striving towards the ideal of the ‘free man’
not restrained by too many personal ties. Put in more positive terms: they present
themselves as adventurers who do what they want to do, unencumbered by a criminal
self-image.

I’ve never been involved in criminal acts. If you do that, you harm
others. I prefer to do it this way, because everybody is free to buy or not
to buy drugs. I don’t force anybody and I don’t blackmail anybody (…)
That’s the difference with, for example, a hold-up. Then you force
someone to give his money. (…) My social feeling is there and I don’t
want to cross my personal standards and values (R37).

The majority of the respondents has children and/or has lived with a partner for some
time. However, at the time of the interview few of them had a regular family life, Most of
the respondents seem to prefer the life of a bachelor. Their daily business of selling drugs
(and their own drug use) is one of the main reasons to choose the life of a single person.

I’m divorced, which is not surprising with this way of living. My current
girlfriends come from the same circle of friends. They all sniff cocaine
(R10).

3b) Income of Rotterdam cocaine retailers

It is unrealistic to consider the respondents as far as sources of income are concerned as
one-dimensional persons dealing only in cocaine. Nearly all of them also have other
sources of income. They can best be described as ‘hustlers’; i.e. they take any kind of job
as long as it is profitable in the short term.
This applies to the past as well as the present. Alternative income sources are
sought, because the respondents can not combine a regular job with the use of hard drugs.
Since most of them are familiar with the drug scene, many of them found their first
alternative jobs in this sector.

Before dealing in cocaine became their main business many respondents had other types
of income from the drug scene. For example, many of the older ones (now aged 40+
years) started by selling hashish and later (in the 1970s) shifted to selling heroin.

Then heroin came on the market. For us Surinamese it was something

new. It took over the hash business more or less automatically. I was a
hash smoker and because this was already an illegal circuit I
automatically met others who were smoking heroin. Because the profits

5
 were much higher with heroin, we decided to also deal in heroin.
Cocaine came much later. (…). It’s more or less a natural step in
business to do this. After all, money is money (R19).

Smuggling
Apart from dealing in drugs, smuggling of drugs via the main Dutch airport
(Amsetrdam/Schiphol) is a popular activity. In recent years, 20 of the 38 respondents had
traveled overseas to smuggle cocaine into the Netherlands. Most had swallowed small
balls of cocaine or carried cocaine in their luggage or concealed on their body. They
seldom organized such transports themselves. The assignments often arose from chance
or requests from family members or friends already in the business. The cocaine
swallowers report that they earn about 450 euros for every 100 grams they bring safely
into the country. The respondents who swallowed cocaine smuggled between 300 to 1000
grams each time.

Odd jobs
Another way of generating an illegal income is by doing ‘odd jobs’ in the drug scene. For
example: working in a dealing house (e.g. as a weigher), or as a ‘runner’ (looking for
potential customers). Finally, several respondents have a temporary job as a doorman for
dealing houses or for a regular café. However, their position in their in the drug dealing
business remains strategic, as one of the respondents illustrates:

I was a doorman for some time. Then people often come to you to ask if
you know a place where to buy drugs. (…) Slowly I became familiar
with the scene and learned to know the right people. The guy that owned
the pub I worked also seemed to be a big shot in the drug business.
That’s how I got valuable contacts. Soon I became one of his
representatives in the drug business (R05).

Property crime
Besides jobs in the drug business, the respondents are often involved in shoplifting and
burglary.

Detention periods
Because of the many illegal activities over the years most respondents have been
imprisoned at least once, and some many times. Only five of the 38 respondents had
never been in prison. After detention the prospects of a regular career are even less than
before, and most take up their ‘old life’ again. Or, as one of them describes:

In spite of the fact that I was arrested, it never occurred to me to think of

another way of making a living. On the contrary. When I was caught and
detained, I could only think about other ways to get back the money and
goods I’d lost as soon as possible. Within 24 hours after my release from
prison I was back in full business (R18).

Legal income sources

Apart from illegal extra earnings (nearly always within the drug scene) some respondents
had some legal forms of income. Firstly, most received social security benefits, except for
those few who had an illegal status or because they had no official residence. Once they
are part of the drug scene (using themselves, dealing, or both) very few of the respondents
had any work outside the drug scene and, if so, their contract seldom lasted for a long
period. Only one respondent had been employed on a regular basis in the last few years
(besides his cocaine dealing) but he was dismissed shortly before the study interview.

6
3c) Operational management of Rotterdam cocaine retailers: suppliers, customers,
partners and modes of cocaine import

Actual selling practise

On the retail level, trade in crack and powder cocaine are separated, so that retail dealers
generally sell only one or the other. However, most dealers can arrange to supply both
types if ordered well in advance. Besides cocaine, 28 of our crack dealers also sell heroin,
because many of their customers use both drugs (30 of the 38 dealers interviewed present
themselves as a crack dealer). The powder cocaine dealers seldom sell heroin, because
their customers seldom ask for it. It is noteworthy that, besides cocaine, hardly any others
drugs are sold in combination (except heroin). Ecstasy, for example, is neither a popular
nor a profitable drug in this circuit of retail.

Sometimes people come to us for ecstasy. But I give that business to

people specialized in that business. I leave the hash to be sold by the
coffee shops (R18).

The personal contacts of our Rotterdam cocaine retailers are mainly restricted to the
world of drugs: their network of suppliers, customers and partners are crucial factors.

Suppliers
Most cocaine retailers do not depend on one supplier because more than one supplier is
seen as the best guarantee for a reliable stock of drugs.

I can’t have just one supplier. I’ve been in the business for years. I have
one good contact, but also alternatives. When I’m on holiday I have to be
able to go to someone else. My business is like a shop, you always need
to have cocaine. That’s not possible with only one supplier (R37).

There are, however some exceptions. In one case, for example, there is no domestic
supplier because the group which the cocaine retailer belongs to sends their own people
overseas to smuggle the cocaine into the country.
The amount that cocaine retailers buy in one transaction differs. The smallest
amount consists of several grams (some of which is taken for their own use) larger up to
hundreds of grams. However, retailers generally buy 10-20 grams; few buy larger
amounts at one time. These dealers are often those who also function as middlemen,
besides their retail activities.

Customers
Besides suppliers, consumers are an indispensable contact for cocaine retailers. On the
other hand, because clients are seen as a risk factor, not all retailers want to gather as
many customers as possible. There are two main types of customers: powder cocaine
customers are often described as being: ‘neat people with a decent job’, whereas the
buyers in the crack are often described as ‘losers’, ‘junkies’ and troublemakers ‘causing
nuisance’.

The powder cocaine scene is completely different from the crack circuit.
The standard is higher and they often want larger amounts. Furthermore,
the language is completely different. (…) It’s more chic, more elite
(R36).

Contacts between seller and customer can be either via direct contact in the street or via
mobile phone; some dealers combine both methods. Surprisingly, almost no-one uses a
dealing house as a means of selling drugs, although until recently this was a fairly
common method.

7
Partners
Whereas suppliers and customers are a necessity for drug selling, having a partner is less
important. Fifteen respondents worked with a partner, mainly because someone is always
available to sell the merchandise and thus increasing the circle of customers. Safety is
another factor for a partnership, because it keeps potential rippers away. Finally, with a
partner these dealers consider themselves less vulnerable for police actions, i.e. one does
the talking and the partner keeps the supply. However, most respondents seem to prefer
doing business alone, either because they were unable to find a reliable partner, or
because they consider a partner and a growing circle of customers as too great a risk.
These cocaine retailers consider being alone the best guarantee for a successful long-
lasting dealership.

Chains of cocaine distribution

The line from import to retail is generally described as being short. Cocaine is generally
imported in small amounts and is sold to middlemen or even straight to retailers. The
supply seems to depend on small-scale imports via Amsterdam airport. All these retailers
report small-scale distribution via airport smuggling. More than 50% of our respondents
had themselves experienced this way of smuggling cocaine into the country.
From the interviews we learned that contacts overseas in transit countries
(especially Surinam and the Dutch Antilles) are important. However the level of
organisation of these smuggle undertakings should not be overestimated. From the Dutch
side, drug couriers are easily recruited, if they are in financial trouble, are not afraid to
swallow or carry a certain amount of cocaine and do not look too suspicious. Recruiting
these smugglers generally takes place via an intermediary, so the real organizers can stay
hidden.
That larger transports take place via the Rotterdam harbour does not seem to
interest the local Rotterdam cocaine retailers. When asked about this phenomenon, three
types of answers are given: 1) respondents claim that it is too dangerous nowadays to
organize large-scale transports of cocaine, because of the container scans in the
Rotterdam harbour, 2)these dealers know about large-scale transports, but consider these
to belong to a different circuit of (domestic) trade, and 3) the respondents state that they
have no idea how the cocaine got into the country and which steps were taken between
the moment of import and their retail business.

One thing I know for sure is that I’m at the bottom of the line. OK, I
know that there’s a person from whom I can buy 10 to 100 grams. But
who is above him? Who’s the guy that imports from Surinam or the
Dutch Antilles? I wouldn’t dare to answer that question (R26).

4. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION

If we have to characterize the group of cocaine retail dealers studied in this first
part of the project, we can draw the following conclusions. The group has had
little parental attention, a poor education for a successful regular social career,
and started using drugs at a young age. Although most respondents have been
employed in regular jobs, their drug addiction forced them to search for
alternative income sources (nearly always in the drug scene). As an alternative
income, dealing other drugs, smuggling drugs or doing odd jobs in the scene
became part of their daily existence until (sooner or later) the cocaine retail
business became their main focus. Being involved in illegal activities, nearly all
respondents have been imprisoned at least once, but generally more often. After
their release most became even more embedded in the drug scene. Dealing
cocaine in the Rotterdam retail market is divided into crack and powder cocaine.
Both markets have their own customers and the dealers in the respective markets

8
have their own way of selling strategy. The retailers of cocaine nearly always
have more than one supplier in order to ensure a reliable stock of cocaine. The
group of customers tends to be quite small, reducing the risk of being caught.

Short distribution lines

The cocaine distribution line for supply on the local market based on this series of
interviews with Rotterdam cocaine retailers, seems much shorter compared with earlier
studies in this field. Whereas earlier there were four or five steps between import and
retail, the Rotterdam retailer supply seldom involves more than two steps and often only
one. The large cocaine transports (hundreds of kilos) that comes via the Rotterdam
harbour does not seem to be part of the distribution line along which the Rotterdam
cocaine retailers receive their merchandise. During the interviews only examples of
small-scale import methods are described.

Reliability and external validity

In this kind of drug research, reliability and validity may be problematic. Can one expect
a cocaine dealer to be totally honest towards an interviewer, knowing that the business he
is involved in is illicit? Is the interview instrument in the setting of a research institute a
sufficiently reliable tool to acquire a valid picture of the social environment of these low-
level retail cocaine dealers? The answer is twofold.
One way to increase the degree of reliability would be to check the details given
during the interviews for internal consistency. This was done by questioning essential
topics several times in different forms. Furthermore, as the series of interviews
progressed, we were helped by the knowledge accumulated from earlier interviews. This
consisted of knowledge about practical matters concerning cocaine trade (e.g. the way of
importation, prices, customers, etc.). We also tried to check the respondent’s answers in
the interviews that followed. Finally, we sometimes had knowledge about the interviewee
from a former respondent.
Besides reliability, external validity is another difficulty in research among drug
dealers. It is difficult to assess to what extent this respondent group is a representative for
the entire population of Rotterdam low-level cocaine retail dealers, because we can not
determine the size and characteristics of the whole population. We do know however, that
some groups of retail cocaine dealers are insufficiently represented: concerning ethnicity,
especially Moroccan dealers are underrepresented because we interviewed only three of
them, whereas it is known that their part in retail level dealing is substantial4.
Furthermore, when considering the two main markets (powder cocaine and crack) powder
cocaine dealers (8 of the 38) are probably underrepresented in this study.
Having two persons act as an intermediary made it easier to gain access to the
rather ‘hidden’ population of low-level cocaine dealers. However, several points should
be made about this way of recruiting. First, the characteristics of the two intermediaries
caused the sample survey of low-level Rotterdam cocaine dealers have some bias. The
two recruiters, a white Dutchman, aged 40 years and a Surinamese man, aged about 50
years (both dealing cocaine as well as using cocaine and heroin) had easy access to the
scene of self-using crack dealers who generally sell to problematic hard-drug users
(mainly using both cocaine and heroin). Probably due to the characteristics of the
intermediaries only 8 of the 38 respondents were powder cocaine dealers usually selling
to pleasure-seekers in the clubs at night, or making deliveries to private houses. Second,
the ethnic background and age of the intermediaries also play a role because they were
most successful in recruiting cocaine dealers with their own ethnic background (Dutch
and Surinamese) and often of the same age group. The intermediaries were however less
successful in recruiting Moroccan and Antillean dealers. Thus, we can conclude that we
probably did not provide a complete description of the Rotterdam cocaine retail level. On
the other hand, the interviews held with Moroccan and Antillean cocaine retailers
suggest that the results would not have differed greatly had we succeeded in interviewing
more persons from these two ethnic groups.

9
Implications for a (local) policy on hard drugs
Although this research project is only halfway, the information gathered so far from the
lower level of the cocaine distribution chain allows some recommendations to be made
concerning the directions for a hard-drug policy in the field of cocaine. Obviously, such
recommendations must lie between the two extremes in this field, i.e. either strong
repression/prohibition or total legalization of the cocaine trade. Considering the Dutch
and international context, neither of these latter are likely to be adopted in the near future
(Van de Mheen and Gruter 2004). Moreover, we would not advise either of those policy
options, but that discussion goes beyond the scope goes beyond the scope of this article.
Here we will concentrate on the retail level because that is the level we have concentrated
on so far.
Taking into consideration how the supply chain of cocaine seems to be organized
based on the data collected so far, it is reasonable to assume that the Rotterdam cocaine
market is mainly supplied by small-scale import practices.
This view is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Justice which estimated that on a
yearly basis at least 21,000 kilos of cocaine from overseas (particularly the Dutch
Antilles and Surinam) is smuggled in small portions via the Amsterdam airport5. If this
figure is correct, this implies that police investigations into large-scale transports are
likely to have little effect on the cocaine supply as far as the local market is concerned.
Therefore, a start has been made with ‘100% custom control’ (luggage and
persons) of passengers flying in from the Dutch Antilles and Surinam (January 2004).
What effect this will have on the cocaine supply on the local Rotterdam market is as yet
unknown, but we assume that the supply of cocaine on the local market will continue.
Consequently, the local authorities will continue to develop a policy for problems related
to the cocaine retail trade. Because the cocaine trade at this level is (besides crime)
particularly related to the disturbance of public order and safety, local interventions on
the supply side should be aimed at these issues. Considering that in the Netherlands drug
use and its retail trade are not strongly repressed but addressed in terms of harm
reduction6, a differential approach consisting of (measured out) suppression and
regulation (by public and private interventions on the supply side) combined with a
balanced spread of the drug scenes seems an appropriate policy direction (Van de Mheen
and Gruter 2004).
In Rotterdam we find that, on the local level, measured out repression is already
used to combat the drugs trade. This means that priority is given to prosecution in the
wholesale trade, international trade and nuisance-related trade. Trade on the local level,
aimed at the local drug users, which does not cause too much nuisance, has low priority
in prosecution.
Regulation of the hard-drug trade is based on the idea of measured out
suppression but also includes active involvement of the dealers. Although not legal and
therefore can not be formulated as official local policy, the involvement of dealers may
be crucial in a successful policy with respect to dealing with crime, public order and
safety.

10
Notes

1. Retail: level on which deliveries are made to the consumers.

2. However, this figure was measured by a postal questionnaire among the general

population. It is doubtful whether this is a reliable method to measure cocaine

consumption.

3. The Rotterdam Drug Monitoring System (DMS) is an information and observation

system which continuously collects information on drugs, drug use and drug-related

phenomenon and problems in Rotterdam amongst daily or nearly-daily users of heroin

and other drugs. DMS takes the perspective of drug users as a starting point.

4. An indication of the larger share of Moroccan cocaine retailers is found in unpublished

fieldwork notes made within the framework of the Rotterdam Drug Monitoring System.

5. It is estimated is that 21,000 couriers smuggle at least one kilo each. Source: Vijfde

Voortgangsrapportage drugssmokkel Schiphol, Den Haag: Ministerie van Justitie, p.7.

6. A policy with a central place for assistance in which the use of hard drugs is not

considered a criminal act.

References

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 Biographical sketch

Paul Gruter, MA (1958) worked as a researcher for the The Hague police department

from 1993 to 2000, specializing in juvenile delinquency and drug-related crime. From

2001 to 2003 he was a part-time fellow at the Addiction Research Institute Rotterdam.

Currently he is a fellow at the Erasmus University Rotterdam (department Criminology),

rounding of his PhD research. Since fall 2001, his PhD research has focused on

subgroups and subcultures of cocaine dealers and the structure of cocaine markets in

Rotterdam. Furthermore, he is a visiting lecturer at courses for strategic crime analysis

and a freelance researcher in the field of criminology.

Dike van de Mheen, PhD (1963) worked from 1987 to 1988 as researcher with the

Rotterdam Area Health Authority, followed by an appointment as researcher and assistant

professor at the Erasmus University Rotterdam (Department of Public Health) until 1999.

During 1998/1999 she was a senior adviser at the Rotterdam Area Health Authority. In

1999 she was appointed Director of Research and Education at the Addiction Research

Institute Rotterdam.

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