Netherlands and Brazil to cooperate more closely against drug smuggling

In the future, Dutch customs will work more closely with Brazilian customs in the fight against drug smuggling. For example, the services will start comparing scanned images of containers side by side to determine whether something could be hidden inside. State Secretary Aukje de Vries (Customs and Excise) has reached agreements to this effect with her Brazilian counterpart Adriana Gomes Rêgo.

"The Netherlands and Brazil are both countries with a good infrastructure," said de Vries. "Criminals take advantage of this to smuggle drugs." The two countries are therefore stepping up their cooperation. The State Secretary assures that the Brazilians are also "highly motivated" to combat this form of crime.

The Netherlands and Brazil will also work together to combat the smuggling of synthetic drugs such as ecstasy by post. The two countries will also share their knowledge on the use of underwater robots to detect drugs hidden on the outside of container ships.