Fourteen kilograms of cocaine, cash and luxury vehicles have been seized and fifteen people were arrested after a large-scale narcotics raid conducted in the port of Antwerp in the early hours of Monday.
At around 6:00 AM, about a dozen police vans and undercover vehicles arrived in dock number 1742, one of the largest operating terminals in the port.
The raid targeted workers charged with overseeing and repairing cooling containers, and resulted in “several” arrests, law enforcement authorities told The Gazet van Antwerpen.
The workmen were targetted due to suspicions they may be linked to drug trafficking gangs.
A simultaneous search in 22 private homes was conducted simultaneously, and law enforcement authorities have said that two families are being investigated over their suspected involvement in cocaine trafficking and distribution in Antwerp.
The city’s public prosecutor confirmed that the raid was part of an ongoing investigation into the import of narcotics into Belgium, and was conducted by a unit known as the KALI team, a special counter-narcotics enforcement unit.
Monday’s counternarcotics operation follows the arrest of a man by local police, who was last weekend found carrying cocaine in his vehicle with his two-year-old son.
The Brussels Times
This story has been updated to include the latest developments.
