8 tonnes of cannabis seized at Brussels Airport in 2025
Belgian customs intercepted about nine tonnes of drugs at Brussels Airport in 2025, including eight tonnes of cannabis mostly from Thailand, the United States and Canada, more than double the 2024 seizures.
Belgian customs intercepted some nine tonnes of narcotics at Brussels Airport in 2025,
including eight tonnes of cannabis, more than double the seizures of 2024.[1][2]The figures
were presented at the annual press conference of Belgium’s General Administration of Customs
and Excise (AAD&A).[1][2]Customs chief Kristian Vanderwaeren said the rise was driven by a
massive influx of cannabis from Thailand, the United States and Canada, where higher European
prices make the trade more profitable.[1][2]
The drugs arrived by freight cargo, small parcels sent by post and passenger luggage.[1][2]Officers took 1,767 kilograms of cannabis from travellers, about four times the 2024 amount,
and 429 kilograms from postal parcels.[2]Vanderwaeren admitted large quantities still slip
through undetected.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
A prisoner at Marneffe returned from temporary leave with 7 grams of cannabis he had obtained while away. Prison guards quickly found it during a search, and the prisoner said he needed it to sleep.
Police in the Bruxelles-Ouest zone seized 13.53 kg of cannabis and 8,670 euros in cash from an apartment in Jette after stopping a scooter rider on avenue de l'Exposition, and detained two suspects handed to the Brussels prosecutor's office.
Operation ATLAS NEXUS, led by Belgium's Federal Police and co-coordinated by Frontex, EMPACT and CARICOM IMPACS across 34 countries, ended with more than 490 arrests and the seizure of 118.6 tonnes of cannabis among 156.9 tonnes of drugs. National operations included a record 104.96 tonnes of cannabis in Paraguay and 3.2 tonnes in Costa Rica.
Brussels federal judicial police seized more than 500 kg of cannabis hidden in two Canada-origin pallets declared as clothing, arresting eight people on 27 August 2026. Four were remanded under arrest warrant, with vehicles, a jammer and phones also seized as the inquiry into the import network continues.
