A 15-year-old Dutch boy was arrested in the Port of Antwerp on Monday evening during an operation where customs officials uncovered a shipment of cocaine worth millions. Alongside him, a 22-year-old Dutch man was also apprehended. The pair were caught attempting to extract the drugs from a shipping container. Shortly after, customs officers found 43 kilograms of cocaine, with a street value estimated between 1.3 and 3 million euros.
Belgian authorities reported that the two suspects were noticed due to suspicious behavior near the fruit docks. Both are now formally charged with attempting to retrieve illegal drugs, as the investigation continues into the source of the cocaine.
Teenagers Recruited for Drug Smuggling in Antwerp and Rotterdam
Drug gangs operating out of Antwerp have increasingly targeted young people, often recruiting teenagers from the Netherlands to carry out dangerous tasks like retrieving smuggled cocaine from shipping containers. These “uithalers” (extractors) can make large sums of money, but face serious risks and heavy penalties. In Belgium, sentences for such crimes can be as high as five years.
The problem isn’t limited to Antwerp. In Rotterdam, the number of young people caught retrieving drugs has spiked, with a record 452 arrests last year. Many of these smugglers are minors, and authorities are working to clamp down on this growing issue through enhanced port security and stronger collaborations between investigators and port companies.