Image Credentials: Image Title: From Ecuador to Europe: The Deadly Path of Cocaine and the Cost of Rising Demand Source: AI-Generated Image (DALL-E) Date: April 2025 Attribution: Created by AI-generated imagery (DALL-E), and it does not depict a real-world scene.
By Staff Writer with Agencies
QUITO, ECUADOR — As global cocaine consumption continues to surge, so too does the illicit trade that fuels it, with Ecuador emerging as a key nexus in the cocaine route to Europe. In 2024, authorities seized a record amount of illegal drugs, the majority of which were cocaine, underscoring a troubling increase in the volume of illegal exports. According to police data, seizures destined for Europe have grown by 30% in recent years, with dangerous consequences for the communities caught in the crossfire.
The rising demand for cocaine, particularly in Europe, has led to a corresponding rise in violence—January 2025 alone saw 781 murders, making it the deadliest month in Ecuador in recent years. Many of these deaths are linked to the drug trade, with local gang wars and violence spiraling out of control.
We spoke with those caught up in the supply chain to understand why this crisis is worsening and how the rising consumption of cocaine in Europe is fuelling the problem.
Tracking the world's major cocaine route into Europe
Ecuador doesn't produce the drug but huge supplies flow through its ports. We look at how demand in places like the UK fuels the problem.https://t.co/t2UaO94WAc pic.twitter.com/gmbDI6BPZv— Tower Hamlets Crime Watch (@th_crime_watch) April 9, 2025
Ecuador’s Role in the Global Cocaine Trade
Ecuador, despite not being a major producer of cocaine, has become the world’s largest exporter of the drug, with Albanian and other European gangs exploiting the country’s strategic location and growing legal exports to hide illicit cargo. According to José Antonio Hidalgo, a representative from the banana industry, 66% of containers leaving Ecuador are banana exports, with nearly 30% heading to the European Union. This provides a convenient and legal cover for the drug trade.
One insider in the supply chain, César, now 36, has been involved with cartels since he was 14. Over the years, he has developed connections with port guards, transport drivers, and others in key positions, bribing them to help smuggle drugs through Ecuador’s busy ports. After cocaine arrives in Ecuador, mostly from Colombia and Peru, it is stored in warehouses until it’s time to be shipped to Europe.
“I knew the port guards, the transport drivers, the CCTV camera supervisors,” César says. “If you don’t do a job the Albanians ask for, they’ll kill you.”
While César feels some remorse, particularly for what he calls the “collateral victims,” he also believes that the blame lies with the consumer countries. “If consumption keeps growing, so will trafficking,” he warns. “It will be unstoppable.”
Innocent Workers Caught in the Crossfire
It’s not just cartel members who get caught in the crossfire. Juan, a truck driver who spoke anonymously, shared his experience unknowingly transporting drugs. He had picked up a cargo of tuna for delivery to a port when something didn’t seem right. It turned out that the shipment contained drugs that were seized in Amsterdam months later.
“We never knew,” Juan says. “But the authorities seized two tonnes of drugs from that shipment.”
Many truck drivers, like Juan, are unknowingly involved in transporting illicit goods, while others are forced to participate under threat of death.
The Albanian Mafia’s Role
The Albanian mafia has been a key player in this trade. Dritan Gjika, an infamous Albanian mob boss, is said to have used his stake in fruit export companies in Ecuador and import companies in Europe as a front for trafficking cocaine. Although Gjika remains at large, his criminal empire has been severely disrupted following a multinational police operation.
Monica Luzárraga, a lawyer who defended one of Gjika’s associates, points to a curious trend: a sudden boom in banana exports to Albania coincided with the rise of the Albanian mafia’s influence in Ecuador. She questions why authorities did not connect the dots sooner.
“How could no one see that banana exports were skyrocketing while the economy here was stagnating?” Luzárraga asks in frustration.
The increase in cocaine seizures destined for Europe has made it more dangerous for those caught in the supply chain. Truck driver Juan reflects on the rise in “container contamination,” where drug smugglers hide illicit goods inside legal shipments. He recalls how one seizure involved two tonnes of cocaine—an amount that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
“If you don’t contaminate the containers, you have two options: leave the job or end up dead,” he says grimly.
The Role of European Consumption
The surge in cocaine shipments from Ecuador to Europe is directly linked to rising European consumption, especially in the UK, which is now one of the largest markets for cocaine in the world. According to the UK National Crime Agency (NCA), the UK consumes around 117 tonnes of cocaine annually, making it the “country of choice” for organized crime groups.
“The UK cocaine market is worth around £11 billion ($14.2 billion),” says Charles Yates, deputy director at the NCA. “Organized crime groups make around £4 billion a year from the UK market.”
As consumption increases, the pressure on traffickers to meet demand grows, pushing even more dangerous and inventive methods of smuggling, such as hiding drugs in containers marked for export to Albania and other European nations. The NCA warns that the consequences of the illicit trade are not only destructive for the communities involved but also devastating for the end users, with cocaine-related deaths in the UK having risen by 30% in 2023.
Ecuador’s Message to Europe
President Daniel Noboa, who is currently in a run-off election, has made combating criminal gangs one of his main priorities. He has deployed the military to address gang-related violence, which is at an all-time high. Noboa, and many others fighting organized crime in Ecuador, have a message for Europe: the trade that fuels the cocaine market is not just a local problem—it’s a global one.
“What’s fun for one person probably involves 20 homicides along the way,” Noboa told the BBC, referring to the violent journey cocaine takes from Ecuadorian ports to European streets.
In the end, it is the rising demand for cocaine in Europe that is at the heart of the crisis, according to those who battle it in Ecuador. “It’s the consumers who are financing the trade,” says prosecutor José, who has worked on several high-profile cases against organized crime groups. “They must bear some responsibility.”
The message is clear: while Ecuador struggles with the violence and exploitation caused by this illegal trade, Europe must take more responsibility in addressing its growing demand for illicit drugs—before it costs even more lives along the way.
Staff Writers at Open Chronicle produce in-depth, field-informed reporting on defense, diplomacy, cultural transformation, and global affairs. Known for clarity, accuracy, and analytical depth, they connect breaking developments to broader historical and strategic contexts. In addition to frontline journalism, Staff Writers also contribute to the Open Chronicle Encyclopedia, crafting authoritative entries that preserve critical knowledge and enrich public understanding.