Up to six years in prison for those involved in underground drug lab in Flemish marl caves
Six defendants involved in a drug lab in the marl caves of Riemst, Limburg province, have been sentenced to prison terms of four to six years and fines of up to 32,000 euros. The underground lab, where the perpetrators manufactured illegal hard drugs, was discovered last year. To reach it, investigators had to climb down a shaft of about seven metres.
In early April 2024, the police received reports that a large number of vans and cars with Polish and Dutch number plates were stopping at a house on Visésteenweg in Riemst. During the months that followed, the house was observed and the police conducted an extensive investigation using ANPR cameras and telephone masts. That investigation revealed that since September 2023, 24 vans with Polish number plates had passed through the neighbourhood.
In June, the police raided the house. Hidden behind a panel, the investigators found a 7-metre-deep shaft with a ladder. When they climbed down, they discovered a drug lab in an underground marl quarry. The officers found a large quantity of drug waste and several production kettles. Amphetamine, or speed, was produced there. It took the Civil Protection Agency three days to remove all the waste from the marl cave and dismantle the drug lab.
During the search and in the course of the investigation, six suspects were identified, including the Dutch owner of the house and his roofer, also from the Netherlands. The roofer was initially hired to repair a leak while the homeowner was on holiday. He then decided to rent the house.
When the owner returned from his holiday, he noticed that his roof had not been repaired and that a conspicuous number of people were visiting the house. He discovered that there was a drug lab in the marl cave under the house and subsequently made arrangements with the roofer and the other suspects.
The perpetrators were all sentenced to prison terms of four to six years and fines of up to 32,000 euros. The house above the marl cave, together with the 300,000 euros in profits that the six had earned from the production of amphetamines, was confiscated.
There are many marl caves in the Belgian municipalities of Riemst and Heers and in South Limburg in the Netherlands. The ground contains chalk or limestone. In the past, people cut large blocks out of the ground to build houses, for example, and this created a large network of underground passages.
#FlandersNewsService | Clandestine drug lab discovered in Riemst © BELGA PHOTO HAND OUT FGP LIMBURG
Related news
