On September 7, 2024, the traffic police of East Flanders noticed four men who were loading material from cars in a Lithuanian truck. The subsequent international investigation led to the arrest of a gang that specialized in drug trafficking.
The first check took place along the E17 in Waasmunster. The traffic police was alerted by suspicious behavior and took 225 kg ketamine and more than 200 liters of precursors in the Lithuan truck and arrested the four suspects. Under the leadership of the investigating judge Van Dendermonde and with the help of Europol, the investigation revealed the activities of an organized gang, twelve of which were arrested on July 15 during various house searches in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
These gang smuggled drugs from Belgium to the United Kingdom. A further investigation subsequently revealed a criminal organization suspected of importing drugs and through Belgium by locking to other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands. It concerned different types of narcotic drugs, including cocaine, ketamine, heroin, crystal meth and mdma, as well as precursors for their manufacture. For transport, the criminals mainly used trucks with deck material. Post packages with cocaine were also intercepted in Belgium. The gang also sold drugs to users in Europe, including via the internet.
