During the third Etoile operation of 2026, police and customs agencies in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France inspected 1,810 individuals and 1,869 vehicles.
The cross-border operation, held from June 15 to 21, against drug distribution networks led to 23 arrests and numerous seizures, the federal police reported on Tuesday.
The teams deployed also conducted inspections on 28 trains and 5 buses. In total, 83 people were found to have narcotics, and 24 drivers were found to be under the influence of drugs.
During the operation, 29 vehicles were seized, along with, among other things, cash, 24.8kg of marijuana, 138g of hashish, 241g of cocaine, 156g of amphetamine, 2kg of MDMA, 29 ecstasy pills, 56g of space cakes, 7g of heroin, 26 bottles of nitrous oxide, and 98 Tramadol pills.
On June 19, the Brussels railway police intercepted an individual in possession of a bulletproof vest, an imitation firearm, and a stun gun.
On June 20, the Zenne Valley local police stopped a Polish vehicle driven by an Albanian national after noticing nervous driving behaviour in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw.
During the search, seven large bags of cannabis were found in the trunk, totalling 23 kilograms.
According to the police, additional operations will follow in the course of 2026 to further strengthen the joint approach and maintain pressure on criminal networks.
