Five Dutch nationals have been arrested in Belgium after police seized 208 kilos of cocaine from a warehouse in Ranst, a village in Antwerp province, according to local authorities. A 25-year-old Belgian has also been arrested.

Local police received a tip on April 22 about suspicious activity at an industrial estate on the Oostmalsesteenweg, where unusually large numbers of cars had been seen at one of the units after a shipping container was unloaded the previous evening.

Officers searching the area found an abandoned VW Golf with packages of cocaine inside. The Belgian suspect, who is thought to have driven the car, was tracked down nearby with help from a police helicopter.

Police also stopped a car with Dutch number plates carrying three Dutch suspects, aged 22, 25 and 25. A subsequent raid on the warehouse turned up two more Dutch nationals, aged 24 and 31. All six are being investigated for drug smuggling, and have been placed on remand.

In September 2025, Belgian police arrested seven Dutch nationals at a storage unit near the Belgian-Dutch border after seizing 1,200 kilos of cocaine. Antwerp has become Europe’s biggest cocaine entry port in recent years, with Belgian prosecutors repeatedly identifying Dutch suspects as the organisers of inland shipments.