World famous for diamonds, Antwerp has now hit the number one spot for something else entirely — as the unofficial cocaine capital of Europe. This dubious distinction is based on the findings of a scientific analysis of wastewater samples in 19 EU countries. The study, weighted against the size of their respective populations, concluded that the Belgian port city of Antwerp has replaced London as Europe's cocaine capital.
They analysed wastewater, with samples of sewage taken in different areas. Most of the chemicals that enter the body leave it unchanged or as mixture metabolites, and drugs are no exception. The research revealed that with 1, milligrams per 1, head of population, cocaine consumption in Antwerp was the highest in Europe.
The European average was milligrams while in Brussels the figure was only milligrams. Antwerp also tops the list for amphetamines and comes in second behind Eindhoven in the Netherlands for ecstasy.
According to the recent Global Drug Survey, Belgians are the most enthusiastic consumers of cocaine in the world.
And Belgium is the cheapest country in Western Europe for the drug. Therefore, the wastewater was checked for specific metabolites of illicit substances such as cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamines and ecstasy. According to Gremeaux, there are two important explanations for the remarkably high concentrations in Antwerp. In addition, the quality and purity of cocaine sold on the Belgian market is quite high. Again, this is also probably due to the fact that Antwerp is involved at the base levels of the import routes.
