A total of 403 festivalgoers were caught with drugs at the Tomorrowland dance music festival in Boom (Antwerp Province) this year, figures released by the Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office show. Thirty-two people were arrested for dealing drugs. They are due to appear in court in November.
Festivalgoers caught with a personal quantity of drugs were offered an immediate out-of-court settlement, raising 104,100 euros. The drugs were seized, and those caught immediately lost their wristbands granting entry to Tomorrowland and were removed from the festival site.
“The police also arrested 32 people for dealing drugs. The public prosecutor’s office served them with a direct summons to appear in court at the Tomorrowland-themed hearing on 25 November. One of them, a Dutch national, had already been convicted of dealing at Tomorrowland in 2024,” the public prosecutor’s office says.
Immediate on site testing
The seized drugs were tested on site straight away in the mobile laboratory operated by the National Institute for Forensic Science and Criminology (NICC). “This allows dangerous substances to be detected quickly, before they are widely distributed on site. For example, tablets containing a high dose of MDMA were found, as well as potentially dangerous substances such as ‘pink powders’ and methamphetamines. These were forwarded to health institute Sciensano for further analysis.”
Over the two weekends of the festival, the NICC team recorded a total of 1,004 samples and screened 777 of them. The three most commonly analysed drugs were MDMA, cocaine and ketamine. The NICC also noted that the results of the drug analyses did not always match what users had told the police. “This may mean that users do not fully know what they are buying or that dealers are selling the wrong products,” the public prosecutor’s office notes.
Pickpockets collared
During the festival the police caught and arrested 14 pickpockets red-handed. The thieves were mainly targeting luxury watches, handbags, rucksacks and wallets. On Friday evening, for example, the police arrested seven men in the VIP area.