At least 6,000 nitrous oxide canisters, seized in 2025 during a major drugs clampdown by police, were reportedly stolen from a warehouse in Halle, where they were stored due to a lack of other options.
By the end of March of last year, a large-scale investigation led by the Brussels police zone into laughing gas trafficking resulted in the seizure of a considerable amount of canisters.
The probe targeted suspected organisers and storage facilities linked to the illegal trade, with searches carried out in several Brussels municipalities, including Anderlecht and Saint-Gilles.
In total, police seized more than 7,000 canisters and arrested three suspects.
According to Nieuwsblad, around 6,000 canisters, estimated to have a street value of at least €300,000, were left inside a hangar in the Flemish city of Halle because the gas posed an explosion risk and could not safely be stored in standard judicial storage facilities.
Despite the warehouse being sealed and secured with a new padlock, the site was later broken into and the entire stock allegedly disappeared.
An investigating judge has been appointed by the Halle-Vilvoorde Public Prosecutor to oversee the case. Nieuwsblad reported that the possibility that burglary might have been carried out by accomplices of the dismantled network is not ruled out.
Meanwhile, the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office, which led the original investigation, has reportedly called for a rapid solution that would allow police to safely remove and store seized laughing gas.
Belgium's Justice Ministry acknowledged ongoing difficulties surrounding the storage of laughing gas canisters, noting that no nationwide framework currently exists.
Discussions are reportedly ongoing with the Public Health Ministry to establish a national agreement governing the collection and destruction of seized nitrous oxide cylinders.
