A synthetic drug lab linked to an international criminal network in Assenede, East Flanders, has been dismantled, the Federal Police announced on Thursday.
The operation was conducted on Monday morning under the direction of a Ghent investigative judge; the raid resulted in the arrest of nine suspects in Belgium and two in the Netherlands.
Five searches were carried out, including two in the Netherlands. Belgian federal judicial police were supported by special units and local police zones Knokke-Heist, Assenede-Evergem, and Meetjesland-Centre.
Authorities discovered the drug lab in a farmhouse in Assenede. Federal police’s Clanlab Response Unit, with assistance from Civil Protection, dismantled the site, which was professionally set up with installations for producing synthetic drugs. Large quantities of chemical precursors were found at the location.
Nine suspects were arrested in Belgium on Monday, while one suspect in the Netherlands was detained that same day.
A second suspect in the Netherlands was arrested on Wednesday under a European Arrest Warrant. In Belgium, three suspects remain in custody, while two were released under strict conditions and four others were released outright.
Police also seized five vehicles, two loaded firearms, several tens of thousands of euros, and signal jammers during the operation.
Belgian police reported discovering 41 drug labs in 2022 and urged citizens to report suspicions of drug labs. Signs may include frequent visits to warehouses or properties, transportation of large containers or barrels, or strong chemical odours in the vicinity.
