Belgian police seize 11.5 tons of cocaine in shipment from Guyana

The Brussel Times – Belgian prosecutors have dealt a new blow to a recently disbanded drug gang led by a former Belgian police chief after announcing the largest-ever overseas drug bust “in the world.”

Counter narcotics prosecutors said they had tracked the transatlantic journey of 11.5-tons (23,000 pounds) of cocaine from Guyana, on the northeastern coast of South America, and seized it upon its arrival at the Port of Antwerp.

The catch is “the largest overseas drug bust ever, worldwide,” federal prosecutors told Belgian media, estimating the street value of the drug load at €900 million.

The massive load of cocaine left a port in Guyana on late October and prosecutors were able to track following the dismantlement of a drug trafficking gang led by a former Belgian counter narcotics chief which revealed the existence of tight-knit links between criminal gangs and counter narcotics and law enforcement officials.

Three police officers, a port manager and a lawyer were among some 20 other criminals arrested as part of the operation targeting the “well-structured” criminal organisation suspected of orchestrating large and “regular” drug shipments from South America to Belgium.

The record-breaking shipment was expected by law enforcement officials as it is suspected it left the port of Guyana after the drug gang’s arrest in Belgium, with drug gangs unable to intercept it once at sea, De Standaard reports.

It was disguised as scrap metal and placed inside a steel container which was in turn packed into a sea container and loaded into a transatlantic vessel.

The dismantlement of the drug gang in late September led to the arrest and indictment of 22 people, with three people still in the Netherlands awaiting extradition.

Following the record-breaking drug bust on Wednesday, three others were arrested, including one person who is facing extradition to Belgium from the Netherlands.

Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times