During house searches in Meerle last week, illegal drug sites were found at two locations. “At first glance there would be no link between the two, but that is still being investigated,” explains Kato Belmans of the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office.
On April 18, the police closed down a cocaine laundry at Klein Eyssel in Meerle (Hoogstraten) after a house search. “The lab and the Clan Lab Response Unit (CRU) arrived on site to make findings. A judicial investigation was opened,” reads a press release from the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office.
READ ALSO. Cocaine laundry discovered in a home in Hoogstraten: “There was a strange smell”
Thanks to an anonymous tip that came in via the provincial hotline www.drugsplantenontdekt.be, a synthetic drugs laboratory could be dismantled a day later, on April 19, on the Strijbeekseweg, not far from the cocaine laundry.
It is not yet entirely clear whether the two have anything to do with each other. This was the 35th positive report from the anonymous reporting center in 2.5 years.
Medicines and weapons
“During the search, a synthetic drug laboratory, a large quantity of drugs, medicines, weapons, fireworks and all kinds of supplies for the production and sale of drugs were found. The laboratory and demining service DOVO arrived on the scene,” the public prosecutor’s office said.
A synthetic drugs laboratory was dismantled on the Strijbeekseweg. — © RR
Two Dutch men aged 30 and 31 were arrested. “They were arrested by the investigating judge on suspicion of unlawful production and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in association,” the public prosecutor’s office explains. “The council chamber in Turnhout confirmed their arrest on Tuesday. The judicial investigations are continued by the Federal Judicial Police (FGP) under the leadership of the investigating judge.”
© RR
Online reporting point against drug plantations and laboratories has already yielded 31 concrete tips
It is not the first time that the police have tracked down and closed down a drug plantation or laboratory thanks to a report on the website www.drugsplantenontdekt.be.
Since the website was founded in December 2021, 721 anonymous reports have been made. In 31 cases it was a positive report that led to an investigation or raid by the police. Citizens who suspect that drug-related crimes are taking place in their area can report using a form on the website. The police investigate every tip and, if criminal offenses are actually committed, announce the results on the website and in the media.
The police are mainly hoping for tips about cannabis plantations, drug laboratories and places where drug waste is dumped. The website, an initiative of the province of Antwerp, the public prosecutor’s office and the police, is just one way to tackle laboratories and plantations. Most of the tips received concern locations in the Kempen, especially in the border area with the Netherlands. But tips are also coming in from the city of Antwerp that lead to results.
People who are looking for help to overcome their drug addiction can also contact various support organizations via the website. There are also similar reporting points for the provinces of Limburg and Flemish Brabant.
(EC, PVDP)
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