10 September 2008

BELGIUM -- Belgium ranks second after the Netherlands in the production and exportation of synthetic drugs such as ecstasy, reports the daily De Morgen on Wednesday.  

The Netherlands is the main producer of amphetamines and ecstasy, reveals the latest report by UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Belgium's central location and the presence of large port facilities such as Antwerp Docks mean Belgium has been an ideal base for cocaine traffickers for many years now.

However, the increased volume of laboratory produced drugs passing though or being made in Belgium is a new trend.

Belgian drugs are not only bound for customers in Europe, but also in Mexico, Canada, Australia and the Middle East.

Belgian police chief Werner Verbruggen told the VRT that 80 percent of the drugs labs are in or near to the Dutch border in Antwerp and Limburg provinces.

The UNODC researchers say that many international smuggling networks also pass through Belgium on their way to Canada and Asia.

[flandersnews.be / Expatica]