Five times more cocaine found in parcels at Zaventem airport in 2024
Customs found five times more cocaine in parcels at Zaventem airport in 2024. This was announced on Wednesday at a press conference of the FPS Finance, Customs and Excise. Customs also noted a sharp increase in cannabis, khat and synthetic drugs seized at the airport.
By the end of November, a total of 130 kilos of cocaine had been seized in postal parcels at Zaventem airport this year. This is five times more than in 2023, according to the FPS Finance. Customs also discovered 1,123 kilos of khat, a fourfold increase, and 378 kilos of cannabis, also a very sharp increase.
Zaventem airport is thus becoming increasingly popular as a transit point for drug trafficking. The destinations of the packages are countries such as Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Colombia and Canada. In Australia, for example, a gram of cocaine has a street value of 180 euros, compared to 50 euros in Belgium.
Customs have also seen a huge increase in the number of seizures and the amount of drugs smuggled in by passengers. Drugs enter Belgium in this way mainly from Latin America, such as Jamaica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and from Thailand. New trafficking routes are also being established from Africa, in particular from Sierra Leone.
Worrying rise
This increase is linked to a general rise in the production and consumption of different types of drugs, according to Kristian Vanderwaeren, head of the Belgian General Administration of Customs and Excise. The increase in synthetic drugs in particular is "worrying", he says.
Vanderwaeren expects both the production and consumption of drugs to continue to increase in the coming years. This will be accompanied by an increase in the amount of drugs seized at Zaventem airport. The variety of drugs will also continue to increase, especially synthetic opiates, says Vanderwaeren.
PHOTO © Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
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