In Belgium, four Dutch men have been arrested because of a large cocaine find in the port of Zeebrugge. Five tons of cocaine worth hundreds of millions of euros was hidden in a fruit container.
The four suspects are between 19 and 25 years old. The police have released a fifth detainee. It is not yet clear whether the detainees were ‘snatchers’ or were involved in the crime in some other way. Snatchers are often young suspects who are tasked with extracting drugs from containers.
More cocaine finds
While the number of cocaine found in the port of Rotterdam fell sharply last year, more cocaine was found in Antwerp than ever before. In January, the Belgian customs therefore announced that it would cooperate more intensively with the Netherlands this year. The port of Antwerp would also deploy extra staff and new equipment to scan containers.
It is not exceptional that Dutch people are arrested in Belgium after drug discoveries. Last month, ten men were arrested in Belgium after nearly 4,000 kilos of cocaine were found. Nine of them were Dutch.
- Less cocaine intercepted in the port of Rotterdam, more in Antwerp
- ‘Young people who get drugs from containers often miss the right role model’
- Dutch arrested after finding 7900 kilos of cocaine in Antwerp
