Drug samples during major festivals 2024 and 2025 in Brussels, Belgium, on September 2, 2025.Image: keystone
December 16, 2025, 4:20 p.mDecember 16, 2025, 4:20 p.m
The Belgian port of Antwerp is already known as an important transshipment point in the international drug trade, but drug smuggling is also increasing at Brussels Airport. In the year that ended, the amount of illegal drugs confiscated at Brussels-Zaventem Airport doubled to around nine tons, Belgian customs said on Tuesday.
This is due in particular to the “massive” smuggling of cannabis from Thailand and North America.
Eight tons of cannabis
Cannabis made up the majority of drugs confiscated in 2025, at almost eight tons. The drug came primarily from three countries: Thailand, the USA and Canada, explained the head of the customs authority, Kristian Vanderwaeren, at a press conference on the airport grounds in Machelen.
Of all the drugs, cannabis was the most smuggled.Image: keystone
The fact that the cultivation of cannabis is now legal in some US states has brought active criminal gangs into action in Europe. “It is obvious that selling cannabis on the European market brings in more money,” said Vanderwaeren.
Large quantities undetected
The number of drug discoveries increases as their global production increases, Vanderwaeren explained. At the same time, it is clear that the authorities did not discover “large quantities” of the smuggled drugs “because we cannot control everything.”
The majority of smuggled cannabis, almost 5.7 tonnes this year, arrived at the airport in cargo traffic. But the drug is also repeatedly found on travelers or in their luggage. According to customs figures, in 2025 there were almost 1.8 tonnes – almost four times as much as in the same period last year.
Brussels airport is Image: keystone
Hub for illegal trade
Brussels-Zaventem is the most used airport in Belgium and also handles a lot of freight traffic. Belgium is one of the hubs for the illegal trade in cannabis and cocaine, but also synthetic drugs such as ketamine, ecstasy and MDMA.
In addition to the 7.8 tons of cannabis and around 540 kilograms of cocaine, customs at Brussels airport also confiscated almost 500 kilograms of ketamine intended for export this year. (sda/afp)