Cocaine seizures have exploded at Brussels airport in 2024, with more than a tonne intercepted from travelers. Belgian customs are alarmed by this worrying trend and the diversification of smuggling methods…
Brussels-Zaventem airport will become a major hub for drug trafficking in Europe in 2024, according to the latest alarming figures communicated by Belgian customs. Seizures of cocaine from travelers have literally exploded there, reaching record levels which are of great concern to the authorities.
More than a ton of cocaine seized from passengers
Indeed, no less than 1,071 kg of “white” were intercepted between January and November in suitcases or on travelers landing in Brussels, compared to only 179 kg for the whole of the previous year. This represents a staggering increase of almost 500%.
This sad record is part of a global context of intensification of drug trafficking by air. In addition to cocaine, cannabis seizures have tripled, reaching 476 kg, while more and more synthetic drugs and khat are also passing through the airport.
A change in the operating methods of traffickers
According to Belgian customs, this spectacular increase is partly explained by a change in the smuggling methods used by criminal networks. While in 2023 trafficking was mainly organized via “mules” transporting drugs in person, this year more than three quarters of seizures were made directly in luggage.
These figures are very worrying and show that traffickers are constantly adapting to try to slip through the cracks. We absolutely must strengthen controls.
A Belgian customs official
The airport, a key link in drug trafficking networks
These record seizures at Brussels-Zaventem, although much lower in volume than those made at the port of Antwerp, illustrate the pivotal role played by airports in cartel logistics.
Traffickers use them to transport smaller quantities of narcotics, but with high added value, as well as chemical precursors essential to clandestine laboratories for the production of synthetic drugs. Many of these laboratories are also located in Belgium.
Air freight also affected
Beyond the seizures on travelers, customs are also alarmed by the quantity and diversity of drugs hidden in postal packages and freight transiting through Brussels-Zaventem.
More than a ton of khat, a psychotropic plant mainly cultivated in the Horn of Africa, was intercepted, most often in transit. Next come cannabis (378 kg), ketamine (143 kg) and cocaine (130 kg). The main recipient countries were Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
General mobilization against trafficking
Faced with this worrying situation, the Belgian authorities have decided to strengthen controls at the national airport, an extremely sensitive site. More customs officers will be deployed and new detection equipment will be installed.
Furthermore, cooperation will be strengthened with the police in the countries from which “risky” flights originate, as well as with the countries of destination of suspicious packages, in order to better trace and dismantle the networks. The objective is to slow down this worrying increase in traffic and to suffocate the networks which plague the airport.
But the authorities are aware that the fight promises to be difficult and long-term because the creativity of traffickers seems limitless to circumvent controls and flood Europe with ever more varied drugs. Brussels airport, like many others, remains more than ever a gateway to watch.
