The Belgian Customs are demanding that cocaine that is seized and confiscated be incinerated more quickly, preferably on the day the drugs are intercepted. The Administrator General of the Belgian Customs Service Kristian Vanderwaeren told the daily ‘De Standaard’ that he is concerned about custom officers’ safety. Mr Vanderwaeren’s concerns come after an incident on Friday evening in which two dock workers were robbed at a customs depot at Antwerp Docks. The dockers were threatened with knives quite possibly wielded by drug criminals looking for a consignment of seized drugs.
Antwerp
Customs demand that seized cocaine be incinerated more quickly
Published:
Last week the Head of the Customs Service told VRT Radio 1 that the police should provide more support to the Customs Service. This request is now being heard again, after two dock workers were robbed, gagged and threatened with knives at a customs depot at Antwerp's Waasland Dock on Friday. The knifemen were quite possibly drug criminals searching for a consignment of seized drugs. The Antwerp public prosecutor's office is refusing to comment on whether the criminals managed to recover their drugs.
Recently customs officers have been confiscating a large amount of drugs. Mr Vanderwaeren told VRT Radio 1’s morning news and current affairs programme ‘De ochtend’ that "This amounts to almost 40 tonnes per month. Often 10 tonnes at a time," The drugs seized kept in storage and later destroyed. However, greater protection is urgently needed for those involved in the seizure, storage and destruction of drugs.
Keep length of time cocaine is storaged time to a minimum
Kristian Vanderwaeren stresses that the length of time that cocaine is stored should be kept to a minimum. "This is currently not easy when large quantities are involved. First, the cocaine must be removed from the container, which is often not so easy as the drugs may have been well concealed. This must be done in a safe place. Once the cocaine is taken out an inventory must be made. This is forwarded to the public prosecutor's office and they then issue the order to destroy the drugs. Even then the drugs cannot simply be thrown into the incinerator. They must be prepared and only then can they be destroyed."
In an ideal world drugs would be destroyed on the day on which they are seized as is the case in The Netherlands. This is possible there as incinerator capacity is readily available. However, there is only one place in the whole of Flanders where drugs can be incinerated. Furthermore, that incinerator is used for other tasks than destroying illegal narcotics.
Three incinerators with a combined capacity of 100,000 tonnes. The Public Flemish Waste Company OVAM currently uses a system of time slots for its incineration plants. OVAM says that it currently has no waiting times. The three ovens have a combined capacity of 100,000 tonnes.
OVAM’s spokesman Jan Verheyen "This is hazardous waste and we must be able to guarantee that it is incinerated 100%. The waste is incinerated at temperatures of more than 1,000°C. The flue gases that are emitted are also post-burned to ensure complete combustion. of the waste and that no residue is released through the chimney."