The reporting identifies Antwerp as a major hub in the international drug trade, but it does not establish a single explanation for how the port acquired that role. One concrete example came in September, when an Opel Combo shipped directly from Antwerp to South America was found in Argentina carrying about one million ecstasy pills, according to HLN. The seizure was described as Argentina’s largest-ever haul of synthetic drugs.
Antwerp’s importance is also at the centre of Belgium’s political debate about drugs reaching Brussels. Brussels Mayor Philippe Close argued in August that stronger action was needed at the Port of Antwerp, while Antwerp Mayor Els van Doesburg responded that crime per capita was lower in Antwerp than in Brussels, according to HLN. Brussels prosecutor Julien Moinil subsequently qualified Close’s remarks, according to 7sur7. These exchanges show that Antwerp’s role is politically contested, rather than proving that every drug shipment into Brussels passes through the port.
The cases covered over the period show large seizures, but they involve different drugs, routes and authorities. Italian financial police intercepted more than 2.6 tonnes of cocaine on a speedboat off Portugal, with an estimated value of €500 million, according to 7sur7. In Belgium, authorities seized more than half a tonne of cannabis shipped from Canada; eight people were arrested and four were remanded in custody, according to HLN and La Libre.
Other cases illustrate the range of the trade. A court case involved an attempted shipment of nearly 37 kilograms of cocaine through Ostend airport, according to VRT NWS. Argentina seized about one million ecstasy pills in a vehicle sent from Antwerp, with a street value estimated at up to €16 million, according to HLN. These are seizure totals from individual operations, not a measure of the full volume entering Europe or Belgium. They cannot by themselves establish what proportion of the trade authorities intercept.
Corruption appears in the wider criminal investigations connected with Antwerp, although the reporting does not establish that every corruption case involved port staff or dock operations. In September, Turkish police arrested 24 people linked by investigators to Antwerp’s Yaramis crime clan. Authorities seized 87 properties, 18 vehicles, four boats, shares and bank accounts, with an estimated combined value of €18 million, according to HLN. Belgian investigators had exchanged information with Turkish authorities about drugs and clan finances.
HLN also reported that the Yaramis family had been convicted in Antwerp of corruption, money laundering and drug trafficking. Separately, the Costa mega-trial included a former gendarme among the defendants, according to La Libre, while VRT NWS described the case as involving enormous quantities of cocaine and billions of euros. Those cases show how public officials, financial assets and organised drug networks can appear in the same investigations, but they should not be treated as proof of a generalised system of corruption at the port.
Brussels experienced a sharp security crisis during the period covered. Prosecutor Julien Moinil said in August that the capital had recorded more than 150 shootings and 22 explosions over the preceding year, and warned that drug-related violence posed a public-safety risk, according to VRT NWS. Separately, 7sur7 reported six shootings in Brussels since the previous weekend, including an attack on a police station in Anderlecht and a bullet that entered a bedroom in Saint-Gilles.
The financial stakes help explain why authorities describe the trade as a source of conflict. A drug-dealing point can generate up to €80,000 a day, according to 7sur7. Saint-Gilles residents protested after recent shootings, and the municipality later adopted a motion combining prevention, public safety and public-health measures, according to VRT NWS and 7sur7. Political leaders have disagreed over the Antwerp-Brussels connection, but Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said justice alone could not stop the violence and called for enforcement to be combined with social and preventive action, according to La Libre.
Belgian authorities increased targeted operations and coordination. A Full Integrated Police Action, or FIPA, in Brussels involved about 550 police officers and military personnel and included checks in several neighbourhoods, according to La Libre. A later FIPA operation checked 1,133 people, 272 vehicles and 18 businesses, according to VRT NWS. Both operations targeted drug-related problems, although the reported outcomes were not identical.
The response also extended to national security, international cooperation and criminal finances. Prime Minister Bart De Wever convened the Intelligence and Security Coordination Committee to examine shootings linked to drug trafficking, according to La Libre. Belgian investigators supplied information used in the Turkish operation against the Yaramis network, according to HLN. Drug Commissioner Ine Van Wymersch argued that systematically targeting criminal money flows was central to preventing Belgium from becoming a narco-state, while the government also discussed prevention and support alongside enforcement. Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden proposed making drug lords contribute to prison costs, a measure experts described as symbolic politics, according to VRT NWS.
The figures document enforcement activity, not the complete scale of trafficking. More than 2.6 tonnes of cocaine seized at sea, over half a tonne of cannabis seized in Belgium, and nearly 37 kilograms involved in an Ostend airport case describe separate operations. They cannot be added together into a single cocaine total, because the cases concern different drugs, locations and investigations.
The same caution applies to violence and arrests. The 150-plus shootings and 22 explosions cited by the Brussels prosecutor cover a year, while the six shootings cited by 7sur7 cover a shorter period. FIPA figures count checks, vehicles and businesses, not the total number of people involved in trafficking. The Tomorrowland figures similarly count enforcement at one event: VRT NWS reported 403 people caught with drugs and 32 alleged dealers arrested. Taken together, the numbers show sustained enforcement and serious violence, but they do not reveal the total market or the proportion of traffickers authorities have identified.
Antwerp is treated by Belgian political and judicial authorities as an important point in the international drug trade. The reporting includes a vehicle shipped directly from Antwerp to South America that contained about one million ecstasy pills. Brussels Mayor Philippe Close also linked drugs and violence in the capital to the Port of Antwerp, although Antwerp’s mayor disputed his comparison and the Brussels prosecutor qualified the remarks.
The cases include an attempted shipment of nearly 37 kilograms of cocaine through Ostend airport and a separate seizure of more than 2.6 tonnes of cocaine from a speedboat off Portugal. The larger seizure was made by Italian financial police and was valued at an estimated €500 million. These figures concern separate operations and do not represent the total amount entering Belgium or Europe.
Brussels Mayor Philippe Close said the Port of Antwerp was connected to the capital’s drug-related violence and called for stronger security there. Antwerp Mayor Els van Doesburg rejected his comparison, saying crime per capita was lower in Antwerp than in Brussels. Prosecutor Julien Moinil also qualified Close’s remarks. The reporting therefore records a political dispute, not a settled finding that all Brussels violence originates at the port.
The Brussels prosecutor said the capital recorded more than 150 shootings and 22 explosions over one year, according to VRT NWS. During a shorter period, 7sur7 reported six shootings, including incidents involving a police station in Anderlecht and a bedroom in Saint-Gilles. The prosecutor warned that drug-related violence posed a public-safety risk, while residents and local authorities called for both security and preventive action.
Belgian authorities have used integrated police operations, national security coordination and international investigations. Brussels FIPA operations involved police and military personnel and checked people, vehicles and businesses. Prime Minister Bart De Wever convened the Intelligence and Security Coordination Committee. Belgian investigators also supported a Turkish operation against the Yaramis network. Officials have additionally emphasised tracing criminal finances, prevention, public health and support.
No. Seizures show what authorities intercepted in particular operations, not the total amount trafficked. The cases covered involve different substances, including cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy, and took place at different locations, including a port, an airport, the Atlantic and Brussels. Arrest totals and police checks likewise measure enforcement activity, not the full number of people or networks involved in the market.
Compiled by the shortnews.be desk from our own reporting between 2026-07-25 and 2026-09-18, drawing on coverage by HLN, La Libre, VRT NWS, 7sur7, VRT NWS English. Last checked 18 September 2026.