Special units of the federal police seized 2.76 tonnes of cocaine from a shed in the town of Hamme, East Flanders, on Monday evening, and arrested 12 men, the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office reported on Wednesday.
The drugs were found in jute sacks normally used to store coffee beans.
The suspicious container was initially spotted by Antwerp Federal Judicial Police. It was recovered on Monday from Quay 1742 at the port of Antwerp, then taken to a warehouse in the Drapstraat in Hamme.
The special units of the federal police were ordered to carry out a raid at around 9 p.m. on Monday. Nine men and a 16-year-old were immediately arrested. Shortly afterwards, a 29-year-old man from Meise and the driver of a forklift truck were also apprehended.
In the warehouse, investigators found numerous hessian sacks filled with blocks of cocaine. These bags contained a total of 2.76 tonnes of the illegal drug. By way of comparison, Belgian customs seized 110 tonnes in 2022.
Local police and maritime police were also involved in the operation.
The 11 men detained were from Belgium, the Netherlands, Morocco, Armenia, Latvia and Ukraine. They were all placed under arrest warrants. In the case of the minor, the Juvenile Court has taken “appropriate youth protection measures,” the public prosecutor’s office said.
The prosecutor's office has referred the case, which has to do mainly with the “importation of narcotics in association,” to an investigating judge. The Antwerp Federal Judicial Police are continuing the investigation.
