Six people were freed from a cargo container in the Antwerp Port on Sunday night, where they are thought to have been trapped for almost a week, VRT News reported on Monday.
The six are thought to have been involved in transporting drugs through the port, which has become the main point of entry for illicit substances to then be traded across northern Europe.
They were found in a container in the Waasland area of Antwerp port after being there for almost a week. Investigations are ongoing to determine how they came to be there though all indications point currently to the drug trade. This has already led to numerous incidents this year and port authorities have significantly stepped up security to tackle the issue.
Medical examinations showed that all six were still in good health.
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It is thought that the six might have been smuggled into the port hidden in a so-called "Trojan" container – one that is empty and fitted with a makeshift sleeping accommodation. This tactic is not uncommon as a way of getting traffickers into the port so that they can then easily access their "target container" containing a drug shipment, when it arrives.
In June this year, 12 Dutch "extractors" were arrested, having been discovered waiting to retrieve a large drug delivery.
