Antwerp cops arrest suspects in Dutch van allegedly trying to steal back seized cocaine

The police in Antwerp arrested at least seven men after forcing a van with Dutch license plates to a stop on IJzerlaan on Tuesday evening. Sources told local media that the suspects formed part of an armed commando trying to steal back a shipment of seized cocaine.

According to GVA, the Antwerp police’s rapid response team had been hiding at the intersection of IJzerlaan and Noorderlaan for several hours when the black minivan with Dutch license plates drove up. They forced the vehicle to a stop and quickly arrested at least seven men as they tried to flee on foot.

The Belgian authorities would not comment on the incident, but sources told the GVA that the police believe the suspects to be drug criminals on their way to steal back seized cocaine stored in a customs warehouse near IJzerlaan.

On Tuesday, the Dutch and Belgian authorities announced that they seized some 7,700 kilograms of cocaine at the port of Rotterdam in a joint operation. The Belgian authorities also confiscated several tons of the drug at the port of Antwerp earlier on Tuesday.