The Most Dangerous Job in Crime

0:08 Five teenagers are dropped off just outside the port of Antwerp.

0:12 The port is as big as an entire city.

0:15 And it never sleeps.

0:19 Throughout the night,

0:20 there are trucks rolling in and containers being shifted around.

0:24 But the boys are here for a very different kind of job.

0:27 Their mission is to get their hands on bags full

0:29 of cocaine hidden somewhere in this maze of countless containers.

0:34 And inside the maze, Belgian police are always on alert.

0:38 One wrong move and it's game over.

0:43 This is the insane brutal world of Europe's coke runners.

0:50 [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music]

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1:40 Europeans love cocaine.

1:43 We already made a video about how the continent is hooked on coke,

1:47 how the market for it keeps growing,

1:49 how the substance works, and what it does to the people who use it.

1:52 But what we didn't specifically talk about is how it gets here.

1:56 How a product that's made thousands of kilometers away in the jungles

2:00 of Latin America ends up in a nightclub bathroom in Berlin.

2:04 Almost all of the world's cocaine is

2:06 produced here in Colombia, Bolivia, or Peru.

2:10 Often, it's brought from the jungle to other Latin American countries first.

2:15 Powerful cartels control this part of trafficking.

2:18 Mexican organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel

2:21 and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación,

2:24 known as the CJNG, or Colombia's most powerful cartel, Clan del Golfo.

2:29 In Brazil, the Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, is a major player.

2:35 Balkan traffickers are active here as well.

2:37 And in Ecuador, the Albanian mafia has become extremely powerful.

2:42 They all organize the cocaine's journey to Europe,

2:44 but they don't operate on their own.

2:47 Various criminal groups cooperate across production,

2:50 logistics, and distribution.

2:52 By the time the cocaine ends up in a container at a Brazilian port,

2:56 it's already passed through four or five different hands.

3:01 Cocaine routes are constantly shifting, but the most popular ones are by sea,

3:06 usually hidden on container ships or sometimes under them

3:10 or in the sophisticated narco subs we covered in this video.

3:14 Mexican cartels smuggle cocaine from here to Mexico.

3:18 From there, they ship it east, often to Spain.

3:21 The Colombian Clan del Golfo either sends it directly from Colombia

3:25 or to other transit countries in South America via speedboat.

3:29 From there, it heads to Europe.

3:31 The Albanian mafia sends the cocaine from here and here to Ecuador.

3:36 From there, it travels on a container

3:37 ship through the Panama Canal toward Europe.

3:40 Sometimes, the drugs also take a detour through Africa.

3:44 The Montenegrin Kavač and Škaljari crime groups

3:47 both maintain a strong presence in Brazil,

3:49 often collaborating with the PCC.

3:52 From here, they send cocaine on container ships to West Africa,

3:55 often to Senegal or Gambia.

3:58 There, they collaborate with the Italian 'Ndrangheta mafia.

4:02 To hide their trail, the drugs are redistributed.

4:04 Then they move on to Europe, usually via the Iberian Peninsula.

4:09 But when you look at all the routes cocaine takes into Europe,

4:12 two places stand out.

4:14 First, the port of Rotterdam.

4:16 But Europe's biggest gateway for cocaine is the port of Antwerp-Bruges.

4:25 This is Johnny from Antwerp.

4:26 [music] He's 15 years old.

4:29 Behind the wheel is a guy he doesn't really know.

4:32 Actually, except for his friend sitting next to him,

4:35 he doesn't know anyone in this van.

4:37 But that doesn't matter because Johnny stands to make a lot of money tonight.

4:43 [music] A few days ago, he and his buddy were approached by an older guy.

4:46 He asked if they wanted to become uithalers, coke runners.

4:50 The job sounds simple.

4:51 Break into the port, get drugs out of a container, [music]

4:54 bring them out of the port, and earn a ton of money for it.

4:58 Thousands of euros.

5:01 [music] It sounds awesome, even fun.

5:03 But now it's dark and cold,

5:05 and Johnny has no real idea what he's supposed to do.

5:09 Too late to back out though.

5:11 Two guys in the group lead the way.

5:12 They've done all this before.

5:15 So after a moment of hesitation, Johnny follows them and climbs over the fence.

5:22 The port of Antwerp is gigantic.

5:24 It stretches across an area of over 11,000 hectares.

5:28 That's bigger than the center of Paris.

5:31 In 2024, over 13 million containers were handled here.

5:35 It's a simple calculation.

5:37 A huge port with lots of cargo also means lots of cocaine.

5:42 We have a lot of ships entering the port of Antwerp, but also Rotterdam,

5:45 Hamburg, Le Havre, which import legal goods from South America,

5:50 from Africa, from far overseas.

5:52 We sat down with Ann Berger,

5:54 a spokesperson for Belgium's federal police, for an exclusive interview.

5:58 And those are criminal organizations, they abuse the legal ways of transporting

6:02 goods to transport their illegal drugs as well.

6:05 They always choose the path of the the least resistance.

6:08 In 2024, Belgian customs seized 44 tons of cocaine in the port of Antwerp.

6:14 But that's probably only a fraction of what moves through here.

6:17 There's estimations that about 10% of the cocaine that enters

6:21 the ports in Europe is seized, but nobody's sure.

6:24 There is a dark number, of course.

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7:41 Criminal groups go to extreme lengths

7:43 to ensure their illegal cargo avoids detection.

7:45 They've reportedly smuggled cocaine in sugar bags,

7:48 with oranges and bananas, and in backpacks hidden among frozen vegetables.

7:53 Or they smuggle a liquid form of the drug inside clothing, coal, or plastic.

7:58 They hide it in cans of joint compound,

8:00 inside fresh pineapples, even inside individual coffee beans.

8:05 They might hide it under the floor, behind a wall,

8:07 or in the engine compartments of refrigerated containers.

8:11 But even if most cocaine likely slips through,

8:14 it still sits here in a container inside the vast port.

8:19 And getting it out of there to sell it

8:20 on the streets is a completely different challenge for organized crime.

8:24 They're always playing a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game with the authorities.

8:28 They have to stay inventive, constantly finding new approaches.

8:33 And a few years ago, a new method emerged that completely changed the game.

8:38 Criminal organizations, they recruit people.

8:40 We call them coke runners.

8:43 They're in.

8:44 Johnny has never seen so many containers in his life.

8:48 A sea of giant metal boxes stretches out in every direction.

8:52 Hundreds, if not thousands,

8:54 of containers stacked so high it feels almost unreal.

8:57 Row after row, wherever he looks.

9:00 It's overwhelming.

9:01 How can they find the exact container they're looking for?

9:05 Luckily, one of the older guys has a phone and is in contact with the client.

9:09 He sends over a photo that roughly shows the spot, plus the coordinates.

9:13 Time to go.

9:15 Right turn here.

9:16 They try to stay quiet,

9:17 ducking into the shadows, listening for any unusual sounds.

9:21 Johnny's pulse is racing.

9:23 He can hear the heartbeat in his ears.

9:25 After this, it's to the left.

9:27 Then there should be a red container between

9:29 blue and yellow ones on the bottom row.

9:32 And bingo.

9:35 Johnny and the others probably don't realize just how dangerous this all is.

9:43 The port's authorities have implemented an array of security

9:45 measures to combat the surge of coke runners.

9:48 About exact technologies, I'm not going to give you any information,

9:51 but we work hard together with everybody.

9:53 We have a lot of exchange of information.

9:56 The port is packed with security cameras, police officers, customs agents,

10:00 and thousands of workers are in the area every day.

10:03 The port also relies on smart technology, smart cameras,

10:07 sensors, and a network of six automated drones.

10:10 They take off from these docking stations and do 18 flights a day.

10:15 The drones are managed from here, the port's command and control center.

10:19 It's unclear to what degree these drones aid in catching potential coke runners.

10:23 Using the cameras inside the drones,

10:25 port staff can zoom in and out of different areas in the port's infrastructure.

10:29 Soon, they say, they'll also have autonomous drones

10:32 sending back images and data in real time.

10:35 These drones would feed information straight into Apica,

10:38 an AI assistant with a 3D interface.

10:41 Hello, I'm Apica, your virtual assistant monitoring

10:44 all activities in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.

10:47 Thanks to a digital network of drones, cameras,

10:50 and sensors inspired by the five human senses,

10:53 I can tell what is happening in the port 24/7.

10:56 It can analyze the port's activities and acts as its digital nervous system.

11:01 But first and foremost, the police are doing old-fashioned patrols.

11:05 The most effective method in catching coke runners is be present in port.

11:10 That's [music] what our maritime and river police does.

11:12 They're present all the time.

11:14 They check up on a lot of people.

11:15 If there's any suspicious behavior, they know it most of the time.

11:19 Last year, they checked more than 10,000 people.

11:22 In 2024, they caught almost 100 alleged coke runners.

11:27 In 2025, it was nearly double that.

11:30 Of course, it's unclear how many they didn't catch.

11:35 And then there's another huge challenge, corruption.

11:38 It's very difficult to get drugs out

11:40 of the port without having someone inside the port.

11:43 So, somebody needs to put container in a certain location.

11:47 Somebody needs to communicate the location

11:49 to other members of the criminal organization.

11:52 These insiders move containers so coke runners can access them quickly.

11:56 For that kind of assistance, port workers can make over 100,000 euros.

12:01 Preventing corruption is absolutely crucial for port security.

12:05 If nobody was telling Johnny and the crew where to go,

12:08 they'd never find their target container.

12:13 They made it.

12:14 Now they need to get in.

12:16 They pull open the doors and see bananas.

12:19 But right there, among the crates,

12:21 exactly where they should be, bags full of cocaine.

12:26 Johnny throws a bag over his shoulder.

12:28 It's heavy.

12:29 As the shoulder strap bites into his neck,

12:31 he's already picturing a new phone, maybe even a car.

12:35 Time to sneak back out.

12:36 Police!

12:38 __] The port police have spotted them.

12:40 Two take off in this direction.

12:42 The third runs this way.

12:44 Not a smart decision.

12:45 Doesn't he realize that he's running straight toward the water?

12:51 Johnny and his friend just stand there, panicked, frozen.

12:58 These boys are the bottom of the food chain.

13:00 Catching them won't get you anywhere near the higher-ups or the cartel bosses.

13:04 They don't usually reside in Belgium.

13:06 But Ann Borge tells us she

13:08 and her colleagues are hunting these individuals as well.

13:11 And we really try to trace up to the instigators of the criminal organization,

13:15 the principals of the criminal organization,

13:18 and there's a lot of them being brought to court.

13:20 Who's the biggest [music] fish that you caught?

13:22 I won't give you any names, but if you Google it, you'll find them.

13:26 Well, okay.

13:27 Let's find out.

13:30 There's Othman El Ballouti,

13:32 a cocaine kingpin linked to the so-called Mocro Mafia.

13:36 In 2021, he ordered the transport of 11

13:39 tons of cocaine that were intercepted in Antwerp.

13:42 In 2024, he received a 20-year prison sentence for it.

13:47 In 2021, international law enforcement agencies

13:50 cracked the encrypted messaging platform Sky ECC.

13:53 They were able to read hundreds of millions of messages sent by criminals.

13:58 As a result, a court in Belgium sentenced more than

14:00 100 criminals in a mass drug trafficking trial in 2024.

14:05 And at the time of our reporting,

14:06 the trial of alleged drug boss Flor Bressers is still ongoing.

14:10 He's accused of co-running a network that shipped

14:12 huge amounts of cocaine from South America to Europe.

14:16 He allegedly made around 230 million euros from just 10 shipments.

14:22 When Johnny and his friend were first approached,

14:24 they might have thought it would be

14:25 a quick and easy job without any consequences.

14:28 Well, they're taken to the police station.

14:31 Johnny is brought to an interrogation room.

14:34 He's scared and completely overwhelmed.

14:36 And the first person they see is not

14:38 their mother or their father or nobody they know,

14:41 but it's just me because I'm going to be there

14:43 with them in order to help them because as a minor,

14:46 they can't be interrogated by the police without

14:48 being in the presence of a of a lawyer.

14:50 My name is Chantal Van den Bosch.

14:52 Uh I'm a lawyer and I often defend minors or adults concerning coke deals.

14:57 So, I think I've represented for more than 100 cases.

15:02 Just like our fictional Johnny, coke runners are often very young.

15:05 Youngest I saw was 13.

15:08 We see a lot of young guys, mostly between 15 and 17, 17 and a half.

15:13 Just when they're still minor cuz it's an advantage.

15:17 Because when you're a minor, you can't go to jail.

15:19 So, teenagers like Johnny might think they won't face any a lot of money.

15:26 For north of 10,000 euros, Johnny won't see any of the pay he was promised.

15:34 Instead, he spends the night with a lawyer and the police.

15:37 The officers start questioning him,

15:39 but Johnny doesn't really know who he was working for.

15:42 And even if he did know, telling the cops wouldn't be a smart idea.

15:46 Because if Johnny were to give up the person who recruited him,

15:49 he'd be in serious danger.

15:50 They don't realize it, but once you're in that world,

15:54 it's not that easy to get out of it.

15:56 Of course, the organization wants to know whether they talked,

15:59 whether what they said, and what they were doing.

16:02 Chantal Van den Bosch always suggests her clients not tell officers anything.

16:07 That way, they avoid being seen as snitches.

16:10 Cuz it's into the file.

16:12 Everyone can read it and it's much too dangerous.

16:15 So, I suggest him to keep silent.

16:18 I can't put my youngster in danger.

16:21 I can't do that.

16:22 But whether they talk or stay quiet during questioning,

16:25 underage coke runners face serious legal consequences.

16:28 So, when you're a minor, you are arrested and then you have

16:32 to appear the next day before the juvenile court.

16:35 The juvenile judge can send you to the juvenile prison or to a detention.

16:40 They might have to stay there for weeks or even months,

16:42 but it's different if you're over 18.

16:45 If you're an adult, you come into the prison.

16:48 Afterwards, you get a sentence and that's between [music]

16:51 40 months and you will have to pay a fine

16:54 of about 8,000 euros if you're a first offender, of course.

16:59 In February 2025, three Dutch men were arrested

17:02 in the Port of Antwerp for allegedly attempting to retrieve cocaine.

17:06 The authorities didn't catch them in action.

17:08 There was no cocaine on them,

17:10 but they did have the typical tools of the trade with them.

17:13 Now, they face over 3 years in prison.

17:16 Belgian authorities are taking a tough approach, hoping it will make an impact.

17:20 They also want to crack down on the recruiters behind these operations.

17:24 There's new litigation now [music]

17:26 telling that whoever uses minors in order to do something for them,

17:31 the sentence they get is much higher because of the use of the minors.

17:35 The Netherlands has seemingly taken a page from the Belgian approach.

17:39 In the past, first-time offenders usually just

17:41 got community service or a suspended sentence.

17:44 Coke runners had to pay a small fine of 90

17:47 to 100 euros for trespassing if they weren't caught red-handed.

17:51 If they're caught inside the port without a valid reason today,

17:53 they can also end up in prison.

17:56 Even if coke runners managed to pull off a few jobs, there's often no way out.

18:00 You don't just tell a criminal group, "Nah,

18:02 I'm good." once you're done risking your freedom.

18:05 Once you do something for a criminal organization and you get money,

18:08 it's very difficult to say no next time.

18:10 Because this isn't an exciting heist movie.

18:13 It's work for a cartel,

18:15 some of the most brutal, ruthless criminals on the planet.

18:21 Over the past few years, violence in Antwerp has exploded.

18:25 Drug gangs are fighting each other in the streets.

18:30 We have seen that there are a lot of bombs in Antwerp.

18:32 Drug-related violence is huge here in Antwerp and it's uh it's very dangerous.

18:37 In an anonymous letter, a Belgian judge even expresses concern

18:41 that the country is turning into a narco-state.

18:43 But it's not just Belgium.

18:45 In Europe's port cities, there are shootings,

18:47 car bombings, kidnappings, torture chambers.

18:52 [music] So, if these guys want you to do another coke

18:53 runner job or move another container to the bottom row,

18:57 they won't take no for an answer.

18:59 If you don't do what they want, the criminal organizations,

19:01 they can also touch your family and a lot of people don't know that.

19:04 They they don't realize it until it's too late.

19:07 Many times I have the assumption that they really don't

19:09 realize what's going on and what they have to expect,

19:13 what is going to to happen to them.

19:15 For me, that's like you didn't realize it, you didn't think about it in advance.

19:19 You're just thinking you're recruited,

19:21 you think about the money you're going to get.

19:23 You don't think about the danger.

19:24 Afterwards, you're not thinking about the troubles you're going

19:27 to be in or what risks you are taking.

19:31 And the cartels couldn't care less if

19:32 kids like Johnny end up in serious trouble.

19:35 The criminal organizations just send other people into the port.

19:39 Other young people will be recruited on the street and brought to the port.

19:44 Business as usual.

19:47 The cat-and-mouse game between cartels and the authorities

19:50 shows no sign of slowing down.

19:52 The cartels keep adapting.

19:54 They're always finding new and creative ways to smuggle cocaine.

19:58 One new method is the so-called Trojan container.

20:02 Coke runners hide inside a container and are

20:03 brought into the port from the mainland.

20:06 Those people have to stay inside of that container

20:08 for sometimes a few days until they get a message from the criminal organization

20:14 that a container with drugs has arrived from overseas.

20:17 Then they have to get out of the container,

20:18 try to find a container with the drugs,

20:21 remove the drugs to another container, or take it out themselves.

20:25 The port police are constantly trying to keep up,

20:27 but they know this is a fight they can't fully win.

20:30 So we try to manage it.

20:31 We try to be able to seize as much as possible,

20:35 not only by coincidence, by scanning goods, but also by information that comes

20:39 from inside the organizations and from uh yeah,

20:42 intelligence all over the world, from abroad, from Belgium, and so on.

20:46 We also know we won't be able to eliminate drug trafficking to Europe.

20:50 As long as there's a lot of money to earn with drug trafficking,

20:54 criminal organizations will try to do it and try to bring the drugs into Europe.

21:00 Experts stress there's no single solution to drug trafficking.

21:04 It requires multiple approaches at once.

21:06 Reducing demand, prevention, health initiatives, research, and law enforcement.

21:12 For the time being, all parents and teachers can

21:14 do is try to discourage teenagers from getting involved.

21:18 We have uh people who come afterwards and they say,

21:21 "I'm very happy I was caught at that time.

21:23 It changed my life.

21:24 I get another view now and I go back to school.

21:28 I get an education, a a degree,

21:30 and I'm very happy that I'm not living that life as I used to be." Others,

21:36 they come again and they say,

21:37 "I we made another mistake and we're trying to make the best out

21:40 of it." Every youngster we try to help or every youngster we can help,

21:45 it's one life or an environment that we're going to save.

21:50 So it's very important.

21:51 If I can change a little bit of their life,

21:53 if I can just put one domino stone to change,

21:57 [music] it can make a huge difference.

21:59 And even if it doesn't work, it's it's never-ending story,

22:02 but we have to invest in it.

22:04 It's They're our youngsters, they're our future, so we have to invest in them.

22:08 It's very important.