Belgian police have confiscated almost 4,000 kilograms of cocaine. They were led by two Dutchmen to an address by the Waze navigation app. The men were taken into custody on Tuesday.
Late Tuesday night, police received information about suspicious behavior in Ravels (a small town in northern Belgium near the Dutch border). A number of cars with Dutch plates were seen driving along a road.
Two Dutch men aged 46 and 27 were arrested. They had a history of drug-related crime, and couldn’t provide a satisfactory explanation for why they were there. They remain in custody.
Police used their navigation app to locate a nearby hangar containing a container containing 68 bags of cocaine. The prosecutor estimates that the container weighs in at 4,000 kilograms.
Seven other men were also detained by police while they were in the hangar.
55km west of Ravels is the Belgia port of Antwerp. It has been called Europe’s main entry for cocaine. There were 110 tons of cocaine intercepted last year. This represents 40% of European cocaine seizures, but local customs officials estimate that this is only 10% to 15% of the cocaine total smuggled into the port.
This month, the European Union and Belgium declared that they would intensify their efforts to combat organized drug crime.
Here is more information on the seizure:
