Earlier this week, the President of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, warned of a "cocaine surge." The drug is spreading very rapidly in Germany, because the market in North America is saturated and the drug trade is now "more concentrated in Europe," according to Münch.

The Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drugs, Burkhard Blienert, is concerned. "More than twice as many people are using cocaine than just a few years ago. This makes cocaine the clear number one illegal drug in Germany," he responded in writing to an inquiry from DW. "We are living in uncertain times, and in these times people are increasingly turning to drugs," he wrote.

The figures prove both experts right. According to the most recent police crime statistics for 2024, heroin-related offenses decreased last year, while those linked to cocaine increased by almost 5%, outranked only by new synthetic drugs.

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The total amount of cocaine seized in Germany in 2023 amounted to a record 43 tons, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office's (BKA) situation report. This was more than twice as much as in the previous year. Customs also reported a rapid increase in cocaine seizures, which almost doubled between 2021 and 2023. In contrast, there........

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