Nanette van Schelven said the cocaine mafia exerted immense pressure on her employees. Photo: LinkedIn.
Director of the Netherlands Customs Service Nanette van Schelven has admitted her officials come under “immense pressure” from organised crime after a television current affairs program reported that 10 officers had been dismissed for colluding with drug criminals over the past four years.
The tracking of dismissals due to severe drug-related offences began in 2019. Since then, six officials from the Rotterdam Port Customs have been sacked.
Two were dismissed from Customs Breda, responsible for operations at ports including Vlissingen. Corrupt employees have also been removed from both Customs Amsterdam and Customs Schiphol Cargo.
In addition to the 10 dismissals, three other officers are currently either suspended or awaiting trial. The specifics of their cases have not been disclosed.
Ms van Schelven said the cocaine mafia exerted immense pressure on her employees.
“Organised crime targets officials at all levels of the service. Even office personnel are not exempt from their advances as they might possess valuable information. Unfortunately, we’ve seen that,” Ms van Schelven said.
“Some officials are approached discreetly, perhaps at their local sports club, by individuals showing an unusual interest in their work. Others encounter more direct contacts with some even followed home and then pressured into cooperation.”
An internal investigation has been launched to assess the vulnerability of the organisation.
“In the environment in which we work, we must absolutely not be naïve. Customs has done a lot internally to discuss integrity and resilience. Screening new employees via a Declaration of Good Conduct has also become more extensive,” Ms van Schelven said.
She said her organisation had established partnerships in Belgium, Ecuador and Brazil.
“These collaborations have effectively increased cocaine interceptions in Brazil meant for the Netherlands. It is much better to halt the shipments before they ever reach Dutch ports,” Ms van Schelven said
The Hague, 3 October 2023
