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This CIROC Newsletter is dedicated to the most significant developments in the Netherlands with regard to research on organized crime activities in the country in the last year. As a result of the revelations emerging from the EncroChat service provider (used by organized crime, but infiltrated by police),
Dutch law enforcement were able to dismantle a significant number of illegal drug laboratories and facilities, including a torture chamber set up in a container, to arrest the leaders of several criminal groups, to prevent contract killings and disrupt other criminal activities. For criminologists these developments provided important information on trends in transnational organized crime and new illicit markets in Europe in general and the Netherlands in particular. Especially important are the new data on the facilitating role of Rotterdam seaport in regard to cocaine trafficking. Richard Staring’s contribution to this Newsletter provides a detailed explanation on how the Rotterdam port acquired its leading position as a cocaine-hub in Europe.