Drift club “Balkan Krew” attempted to hold an illegal drift meeting in Geel on Saturday night. Hundreds of vehicles converged at the Geel-East slip road complex, causing traffic congestion. ‘Due to a strong police presence, the meeting soon stopped,’ police sources say. Around 11pm, the cars moved on to the Ikea in Hasselt, but there too police were able to intervene quickly.
Drift club Balkan Krew once again tried to organise illegal drift meetings at various locations across Belgium on Saturday night. Drivers let their cars skid in a controlled way. Ahead of the meetings, rumours circulated identifying the Kempen/Limburg region as the rendezvous point.
"From 9pm onwards, cars with number plates from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania and France turned up at several locations, especially in Sint-Niklaas (East Flanders). A rumour circulated suggesting that the Kempen District or Limburg would be the rendezvous. It soon became clear that a business park near Geel (Antwerp) would be the destination," police said.
All police teams from the zone were immediately called in and received support from surrounding zones, from the federal highways police as well as the Federal Police reserve unit.
Gathering at Geel-East
At around 10.30pm hundreds of vehicles converged on the Geel-East slip road complex causing temporary traffic congestion.
"Thanks to the strong police presence and thorough checks, the organisers' plans could be considerably disrupted. Around 11pm the whole event moved towards Beringen, and by 11.30pm Geel-East was as good as empty again," police in Geel said.
New rendezvous point in Hasselt
A little later, the cars headed for Limburg. They met up at the Ikea in Hasselt, the new rendezvous point. Local police quickly arrived at the scene.
The Balkan Krew
Balkan Krew regularly organises drift meetings attracting hundreds of people from several different countries. They do not call these events street races, but style themselves as ‘a drift club’. During their meetings, all kinds of stunts with cars happen. On social media, they post videos watched by thousands of people.
The organisation has long been calling for official drift circuits and as long as these have not been created, Balkan Krew will continue to meet illegally.