Reduced air traffic during the pandemic has led to an increase in drugs smuggled by sea, particularly in containerships to big European ports.

Increasing amounts of cocaine are arriving at major container ports such as Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Valencia, protection and indemnity insurer Skuld warned, following a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC).

The World Drug Report 2020 said that despite disruption to global supply routes caused by the pandemic, cocaine smuggling has thrived, with a growth in shipment sizes and the increased use of commercial shipping.