Portugal, Spain, France, Britain, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands on Sunday launched an agency to jointly fight drug-trafficking.
The Lisbon-based Maritime Analysis and Operations Center-Narcotics (MAOC-N), which was initially established in July 2006, was officially inaugurated as an accord was signed by interior ministers from the above seven west European countries.
At the signing ceremony, Spain's Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said that the agency will turn information into operations.
"To fight drug trafficking effectively we have to make joint efforts, gather information and use sophisticated naval methods," Portuguese Justice Minister Alberto Costa said, noting that the Europe was the second biggest cocaine market after the United States.
The MAOC-N has led five operations and captured a total of 11 tons of cocaine since July 2006.
Cocaine use has tripled in Europe over the past decade, with Portugal and Spain being considered the main maritime entry points for Europe's cocaine. About 70 tons of cocaine were seized by Spain and Portugal in 2006 out of some 100 tons seized in the whole Europe.
Source: Xinhua
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