Seven tonnes of cannabis found in coconut cargo near Ypres
Belgian police and customs found seven tonnes of cannabis hidden in a container of coconuts from Africa near Ypres in late November 2013, valued at about 14 million euros. A second container with more of the drug was found in Antwerp, and the combined haul was called a record.
Belgian police and customs seized seven tonnes of cannabis hidden in a shipment of coconuts from Africa in a cargo container near the small town of Ypres in the west, close to the French border.[1][2]The drug, found the previous week, had an estimated street value of 14 million euros.[1]
Shortly afterwards a similar container holding more of the drug was found in Antwerp, the country’s commercial heart and second-biggest port in Europe, though the authorities gave no figure for that second haul.[1]The government called the combined finds a record seizure by customs working with the police.[1]
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.
