Fraud type · Drug smuggling

Drug smuggling in sea freight: how criminals use front companies and cloned importers

When customs find cocaine in a container, everyone wants to know whose load it is. That is exactly why smugglers put a company in between that is not theirs: a freshly incorporated front company, or the name of an existing importer that knows nothing about it.

SafetyBizz Knowledge base · updated 21 October 2026 · 7 min read · NL · FR · DE · SV

How do smugglers use companies to move drugs by container?

Short answer: they have the container booked by a company that does not lead back to them. That is either their own front company with a real trade flow, or an existing business whose name, VAT number or EORI number is misused. When the load is seized, the paperwork shows a name that cannot be traced, or one that genuinely knows nothing.

The Dutch Public Prosecution Service in Rotterdam reports that front companies are firmly back: criminal transport routes are made to look legal through their own businesses, whereas before mostly containers of unsuspecting companies were misused. Europol wrote in 2024 that 86% of the most threatening criminal networks in the EU use legal business structures, naming Ecuadorian fruit companies as an example.

Which variants do you come across?

The front company: a young business importing fruit, juice, timber or building materials. The first shipments are clean, to build a normal profile with the shipping line, forwarder and customs. Then comes the shipment that matters.
The cloned importer: criminals book in the name of an existing business, with a look-alike email address and a different phone number. The real company only hears about the shipment when the police knock on the door. See Spotting a clone company.
The dormant company that suddenly imports: an old shelf company without activity gets a new director and immediately starts importing containers from South America. See The dormant company.
Piggybacking on a real shipment (rip-on/rip-off): the cargo of a bona fide company is "contaminated" on the way or in port. The company knows nothing, but its name is on the documents.

Why it works: in port almost everyone looks at the cargo and the documents, and almost nobody asks whether the company behind the booking actually exists and really made the booking itself.

How big is the problem?

In the port of Antwerp, 55 tonnes of cocaine were seized in 2025, against a record of 121 tonnes in 2023. In Rotterdam it was 11,466 kilos in 2025 (25,900 kilos in 2024), in Vlissingen 7,292 kilos. Fewer seizures does not mean less smuggling: according to prosecutors, routes and methods are shifting. In Vlissingen, the cocaine was hidden among bananas in eight of the nine seizures of 2025.

An example of how far it goes: in February 2025, customs in Rotterdam found 2,950 kilos of cocaine dissolved in barrels of "fruit juice" in three containers from Brazil. The containers were on their way to a company in Klundert. According to the prosecution service, that company knew nothing.

What does it cost me if my company gets involved?

Even if you are innocent: seizure of the container and the cargo, an investigation into your records, questions from customs on every following shipment, loss of your AEO status or good risk profile, and reputational damage with shipping lines and customers. Forwarders and customs brokers also run the risk of having filed the declaration for a party they never checked.

Which red flags should a forwarder or customs broker know?

A young importer with containers from high-risk countries straight awaysuch as Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil or Panama.
A cargo that does not fit the companya construction firm importing bananas, a web shop ordering barrels of juice.
A new director or a new address recentlyor a company that slept for years and now suddenly imports.
Contact only by mobile or a free email addressor via a domain that was registered only recently.
No interest in price or transit timebut many questions about which terminal and when the container is released.
Payment by a third partyin cash, or from a different country than where the company is based.
The delivery address is a warehouse without refrigerationwhile the cargo travels refrigerated, or an address that does not belong to the company.
Last-minute changesto the consignee, delivery address or the party collecting the container.
The VAT or EORI number is correct, but the contact details are notthe classic sign of a clone.

One red flag is not proof. If you see two or more, stop and check further first.

How do I check a new importer or shipper?

Look the company up in the official register and check the incorporation date, activity, changes of director and address.
Check the VAT and EORI number and whether the name matches exactly.
Call the landline from the register or the official website, not the number in the email, and ask whether the booking really comes from them.
Compare the email domain with the official website and check how old the domain is.
Check that the cargo fits the activity and that the delivery address belongs to the company itself.
Only accept payments from an account in the company's own name.
Record who asked for what: emails, names and phone numbers. That protects you if questions come up later.

What do I do if I suspect a shipment?

Do not carry out the order and do not release the container as long as you are in doubt.
Report it to customs or the police. Do it yourself, before someone else does.
Warn the real company if you think it is a clone, using the number from the register.
Keep all emails, documents and booking details. Do not go and look inside the container yourself.

Let Safetybizz check it

Safetybizz checks a new importer or shipper in the official registers: does the company really exist, is it active, does the activity fit the cargo, are there recent changes of director, and do the email address, phone number and bank account belong to the company.

See SafetyBizz

Frequently asked questions

What is a front company?

A company that criminals set up or take over themselves to give illegal shipments a legal appearance. It often has a real trade flow, such as fruit or juice, in which the drugs are hidden.

Can my company be used as an importer without my knowledge?

Yes. Criminals sometimes book in the name of an existing company, with look-alike email addresses and a different phone number. Regularly check whether shipments you do not recognise are running under your name or EORI number, and respond immediately if a shipping line or forwarder asks about a container you did not order.

Am I liable if there are drugs in a container I booked?

If you acted in good faith, you will usually not be prosecuted, but you will face an investigation, seizure and delays. If you can show that you checked your customer and recorded everything, you are in a much stronger position.

Which cargoes are most often used as cover?

Above all bananas and other fruit from South America, but also fruit juice, timber, coffee and building materials. A cargo that does not fit the company is an important signal.

Free checks

Sources: Openbaar Ministerie (Dutch Public Prosecution Service): less cocaine intercepted in Rotterdam and Vlissingen in 2025 (13 February 2026); VRT NWS: cocaine seized in the port of Antwerp (9 January 2026); Omroep Brabant: cocaine on its way to a company in Klundert (June 2025); CBS News on the Europol report on criminal networks (April 2024).

This page is general information and not legal advice.