The growing number of drug laboratories in Brussels is extremely concerning, according to federal magistrate Julien Moinil.
Speaking at the Sky ECC trial on Monday, Moinil highlighted the threat these labs pose to the community, environment and public health, while driving significant criminal profits and violence. The case in question relates to the trafficking and trade of cocaine and cannabis to a level never seen before in Belgium, involving 124 individuals, four companies and one unidentified party. The network was revealed through the decryption of the Encrochat secure communications network.
The resulting investigation uncovered as many as nine drug labs located in industrial zones and residential areas in the Belgian capital, including in Ixelles, Etterbeek, Uccle and Forest. One of these drug labs exploded on Rue Gray, Ixelles, in 2020.
"Criminal organisations no longer hesitate to install drug labs in neighbourhoods and streets where parents take their children to school every day," stated Moinil.
Wider impact
In addition, the traffickers reportedly have no reservations about ordering massive quantities of chemical products and then disposing them in nature, inflicting heavy damage on the environment. The Sky ECC case has discovered numerous instances of illegal dumping, which helped to identify several members of the network.
Drug labs also put public health at risk, emphasised Moinil. "People working under highly hazardous conditions do so without any social protection or health insurance. Furthermore, the cocaine produced causes significant hardship among users, many of whom struggle with severe addictions."
The Sky ECC case is Belgium's largest ever correctional trial. Despite the magnitude of the criminal network it has exposed, Moinil warns that the labs uncovered thus far represent just a small section of a sprawling criminal network.
