Around 50 people working illegally were discovered at a distribution centre used by a newspaper delivery company near Antwerp in Wommelgem, Antwerp's prosecutor's office announced on Monday.
Social inspectors carried out a raid at the warehouse of Distribution of Press, Periodicals and Publicity (PPP), an independent company that specialises in the daily delivery of newspapers to subscribers around Belgium.
Inspectors found that roughly 50 workers were not properly registered, around 30 which did not have a legal residence permit in Belgium.
The warehouse was sealed following the inspection because of the scale of the suspected violations. The closure of the distribution centre disrupted the delivery of several daily newspapers, particularly in Antwerp and along the A12 motorway.
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PPP said it was fully cooperating with the investigation and was quickly able to move operations to another warehouse, allowing newspaper distribution to continue as normal.
It is not yet clear who employed the workers or what role PPP and its subcontractors may have played.
The inspection was carried out as part of an ongoing investigation.
