«The degree of purity has increased»
The Swiss snort 5 tons of cocaine every year
The facts and figures on the international drug trade and Swiss consumption show that, in comparison to other European countries, a lot of coke is consumed in this country. 20 percent of consumers consume around 80 percent of the imported drug.
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A lot of cocaine is consumed in Switzerland. Especially in St. Gallen, Zurich, Basel and Geneva. This is shown by wastewater studies.
Celine Trachselreporter
When it comes to coke, the Swiss are way ahead. Four Swiss cities are in the top ten European cities with the highest consumption per capita in 2021: St. Gallen is third, Zurich fourth, Basel sixth and Geneva ninth most coked.
“The waste water values are relatively high – but stable,” says Frank Zobel, co-head of the research department of Addiction Switzerland, to Blick. But that doesn’t mean the scene hasn’t changed. On the contrary. “The degree of purity has increased in the last six to seven years. In many European countries it is now around 70 to 80 percent,” explains Zobel. Fewer and fewer dealers are cutting cocaine by various means, which means they have enough coke on hand.
No wonder: In the classic production countries of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, the coca production areas have been increasing massively for several years. “The seizures made by drug investigators in Europe are also increasing,” says Zobel. “Huge amounts are coming to Europe.”
Airplane, freighter, courier: This is how cocaine gets into Switzerland(01:05)
Up to 3,000 tons of cocaine arrive in Europe every year
In 2021 alone, 240 tons of cocaine were seized in Europe. Experts such as the German researcher Günther Maihold, who researches Latin America and organized crime, assumes that the cocaine seized by the authorities accounts for only around eight to nine percent of the total volume. So 2600 to 3000 tons of cocaine could come to Europe every year.
It is estimated that about five tons of coke find their way into Switzerland. This is shown by a methodologically well-documented study by Sucht Schweiz from 2018. “As this is a black market, these are of course only estimates. But based on projections, we assume that these are roughly correct,” says Zobel.
“There are increasing requests for addiction treatment”
Around 20 percent of users snort around 80 percent of imported cocaine. Zobel to Blick: “These are the intensive consumers. About half of them are drug addicts who use cocaine in addition to heroin and other substances, and the other half are more middle-class people from the working world who practice what is known as cocaine doping.”
The remaining users would mainly use cocaine recreationally, but on an irregular basis. “Today there are increasing requests for addiction treatment in connection with cocaine,” says Zobel. “This reflects the increase in cocaine use in Switzerland over the past ten years.”