Forensic institute reports rise in high-dose MDMA seizures at festivals
Belgium’s National Institute for Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC) seized 30 per cent more high-dose MDMA tablets at music festivals this summer than last year, highlighting what officials describe as an increasingly “complex and dangerous” drug market.
NICC experts conducted 2,354 laboratory analyses of seized substances directly at festivals, using mobile laboratories at Tomorrowland and Extrema Outdoor. While cannabis remained the most commonly used illicit drug, MDMA, cocaine and ketamine dominated the party drug scene.
In total, 31 psychoactive substances were detected. Officials say that on-site testing enables immediate alerts to be sent to the police, emergency services and organisers.
There has been particular concern raised over "pink powders" and vapes containing narcotics.
First identified at Tomorrowland in 2022, these powders often contain unpredictable mixtures. They sometimes contain less than half ketamine, combined with unknown compounds. This complicates both the medical response and risk assessment. Meanwhile, vapes often require full laboratory analysis to determine their contents.
Information gathered through testing at festivals is fed into a national early-warning system coordinated with Sciensano, Belgium’s public health institute, and hospital emergency departments.
According to officials, this real-time intelligence enables services to prepare for potential overdoses and provides prosecutors with scientific evidence for drug-related cases.
"Multidisciplinary preparation, operational cooperation and evaluation of the festival are essential to achieving a shared experience of success," says National Drugs Commissioner Ine Van Wymersch.
Justice minister Annelies Verlinden has announced 655,000 euros in additional funding to expand the institute’s drug and toxicology services.
The additional funding of 665,000 euros will primarily be used to strengthen staffing and resources for festival testing, while reinforcing what she termed “science-informed justice”.
She said the intention behind providing data was not to normalise drug use but to prevent health risks and inform policy.
"It is about building knowledge, sharing data and safeguarding society against the dangers of an ever-changing drug market"
This investment follows earlier funding for the NICC’s ballistics unit, which has experienced an increase in workload due to the number of drug-related shootings and explosions in Brussels and Antwerp.
NICC director-general Pierre Van Renterghem said the institute's role was shifting from providing purely judicial expertise to offering a proactive, science-based service to promote public safety.
“On-site testing is about more than enforcement. It is about building knowledge, sharing data and safeguarding society against the dangers of an ever-changing drug market,” he said.
© BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND / BELGA VIDEO JEROME FETU
Related news
