A massive drug catch of 6.8 tonnes of cocaine, hidden in a container from Ecuador, was seized in the Port of Antwerp on Sunday by the Belgian police. Four suspects have been arrested.
The drug catch was made on Sunday afternoon, when customs found the cocaine on quay 1742, in a container from Ecuador with bananas as cover cargo.
"Four suspects have been arrested by the Federal Judicial Police (FGP) Antwerp," said spokesperson Kato Belmans of the Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office. It concerns four men aged 23, 29, 32 and 50.
"They were interrogated and brought before the investigating judge, who decided to arrest them." The investigation is being continued by the FGP and the suspects will appear in court on Thursday.
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On Monday morning, the investigators also raided a warehouse in the Elsenstraat, near the Bredabaan in Merksem. It was rented and used by a construction company. Several local residents, however, called it "shady business."
"Those new tenants were terrified that anyone could look into the warehouse," one of them told Het Nieuwsblad. "If the garage door was opened at all, it was very hurried and luxury cars drove in and out quickly."
Credit: Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office
Credit: Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office
