United States Officials are stating that Cocaine is being trafficked to Europe at a higher rate than previously reported.

From AFP:

A top US drugs official expressed concern Friday about growing quantities of cocaine being trafficked through Africa to Europe, as amounts of the stimulant reaching the United States tapers off.”We are concerned because of the movement,” US drug policy control director John Walters told reporters in Brussels.

He said that trafficking in 2007 had “shifted to cocaine coming out of Colombia, through Venezuela in increasing amounts, and by both maritime routes and by air, coming toward Europe.”

According to the United Nations, Europe is the second largest illicit market in the world after the United States. Spain is the major port of entry for South American cocaine, but large quantities also transport through Portugal.

US figures showed that some 58,000 kilogrammes (128,000 pounds) of cocaine arrived in Europe from Venezuela last year — compared to almost 29,000 (64,000 pounds) in 2000 — while 3,600 kilogrammes (8,000 pounds) came from Colombia, well down from over 64,000 (141,000 pounds) eight years ago.

Walters mentioned that he is unable to preciously point to the cause of the increase.

Walters, in the Belgian capital for talks with EU officials, was at a loss to explain exactly why Europe was becoming the destination of choice.

“There hasn’t been a clear indication in 2007 of what may have happened with regard to flow,” he said. “We need to understand this to figure out what’s happening.”

He acknowledged that a strong euro and higher street prices in Europe could have contributed to the change, but above all, he said, it was important to establish whether the shift was a temporary or more permanent phenomenon.

Worldwide, Cocaine is a $70.45 billion market with 14.3 million users.