Belgium: investigators discover 2.3 tons of cocaine in one week

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The crime scene "The Pasta House" in Antwerp: Shots early on Friday morning

Belgian investigators discovered around 2.3 tons of cocaine within a week in the Belgian port city of Antwerp. Eight suspects were arrested during several operations, as the Antwerp prosecutor told the Belga news agency. The port city is one of the most important transshipment centers for the illegal drug in Europe.

Last Monday alone, investigators reportedly discovered more than a ton of the drug during two missions in the port - first 400 kilograms and then another 677 kilograms. Four men between 23 and 58 who wanted to get rid of the drugs were caught, as spokeswoman Stéphanie Chomé Belga announced. However, several other suspects escaped.

On August 20, 510 kilos of cocaine had been discovered in the port area and three suspects were arrested. On August 21, it was another 675 kilograms. A dock worker had aroused suspicion when he tried to climb a container. The investigators found the drugs inside, and the man was also arrested.

The quantities of drugs seized in Antwerp have increased enormously in recent years, also due to more efficient searches. In 2019, the authorities seized a total of 61.8 tons of cocaine. The largest quantities of cocaine come from Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.

Shots and grenades - the number of acts of violence in the drug environment is increasing

Violence is becoming more common in connection with drug-related crime. According to local media, there were several violent attacks in Antwerp within just a week. The fire opened on an Italian restaurant in the eastern district of Deurne on Friday morning, reported "The Brussels Times". The owner of the "Pasta House", which has apparently almost never been opened, lives in the Antwerp district of Borgerhout, where there had also been a shooting in the days before. Grenades have also exploded.

Apparently nobody was injured. The police are investigating. In response to bomb attacks and shots, the Antwerp City Council has called a meeting of the Public Safety Committee for September.

As early as 2019, the head of the US drug control agency DEA had not only visited Colombia but also Antwerp and affirmed that global drug traffickers would be combated with all their might. Rotterdam and Amsterdam face similar problems. Huge amounts of narcotics are also regularly confiscated in the Port of Hamburg - recently it was 1.5 tons of cocaine between sacks of rice. 

ala / dpa