Antwerp Shipping Police's Port Security Corps has made 114 arrests linked to drug trafficking since the start of the year, the office of Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt said on Friday.
Of those arrested, 16 were minors while 13 were found hidden in a container.
Last year, the Port Security Corps reported 150 drug-related arrests. The slightly lower figures for 2024 could be explained by increased controls carried out by the Antwerp Shipping Police. Targeted patrols and the visible presence of the brigades on the ground have, according to the federal police, a dissuasive effect on drug traffickers.
The Port Security Corps, set up in May 2023, checked 2,570 people and 2,000 vehicles in that year. This year, these figures have jumped to around 6,100 people and 4,600 vehicles.
Since the creation of the new unit, the Antwerp Shipping Police has grown from 116 to 206 employees, still short of its target of 312. A new organisational structure has been put in place, surveillance has been strengthened, and the unit has its own investigation department.
Previously, drug-related investigations in the port were mainly the responsibility of the Federal Judicial Police.
"In order to be able to focus more on the superstructure of criminal organisations, it was decided to set up an investigation department within the Shipping Police," said Minister Van Tigchelt. By March 2024, this service had dealt with around sixty cases. Currently, 34 investigations are under way, 21 of which are drug-related.
"We know that criminal gangs have found new ways to smuggle drugs into our port undetected," continued the minister. ‘That's why we are constantly improving our technical investigation methods to detect drugs in all their forms."
