On the evening of Tuesday, October 18, 2023, Antwerp police stopped a van carrying several heavily armed men on IJzerlaan. The Gazet van Antwerpen first reported this incident, which has
since been confirmed by Belga. Further investigations and interrogations are underway to determine the group's intentions and whether there is any connection to a significant cocaine seizure in the port earlier that day.
Antwerp's local police have refrained from providing details regarding the case. Spokesperson Wouter Bruyns stated, "I can confirm that our arrest unit (SRT), with support from dispatch, the Realtime Intelligence Center (RTIC), emergency response, and a high-risk protection (HRP) unit, carried out a high-risk operation yesterday evening." The public prosecutor's office has also not disclosed any information regarding the suspects' potential plans.
Earlier on the same day, a substantial quantity of cocaine, estimated to be "several tonnes," was confiscated in the port of Antwerp. According to FPS Finance, customs authorities seized the illicit drugs at Quay 1742 within a shipment of soy meal. Photo by bert76, Wikimedia commons.