Police in the Vlas zone recorded nearly 30 offences during a nuisance-control operation on arriving trains at Kortrijk station on Saturday.
The checks took place from midday until the evening, police said on Sunday. Officers screened passengers getting off trains arriving from France and from cities elsewhere in Belgium.
The operation focused on drug possession, carrying weapons, theft, burglary and illegal residence.
A police sniffer dog identified 23 passengers who were found to be carrying drugs, including cannabis, heroin and flakka. The drugs were seized.
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Two people were handed over to the Immigration Office because they were staying in the country illegally. Three others were found to have breached the conditions imposed on them. Police also recorded one offence for breaching the alcohol ban in the area around the station.
Mayor Ruth Vandenberghe said the targeted operation had run smoothly and without major incidents. She said that, even on a Saturday afternoon, “unscrupulous individuals” travel by train to Kortrijk and that this small group often contributes to a subjective sense of insecurity and nuisance in the wider station area.
She said the operation had a deterrent purpose and would be repeated in the near future.
