Six employees of Brussels Airport and three other people were arrested on Monday as part of a judicial investigation into drug trafficking via Brussels airport, the Hal-Vilvoorde prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday. Ten searches also led to the seizure of 217,000 euros in cash as well as several vehicles.
The investigation began in February 2021 after the discovery of drugs in two abandoned suitcases at Zaventem airport, which contained 25 and 12 kilos of cocaine respectively. The case gained momentum after Operation Sky ECC, which linked hacked messages to the abandoned suitcases. Very quickly, the investigators established that the cocaine trafficking was organized with the help of airport employees. The investigation culminated in ten searches on Monday, June 27, during which nine people were arrested. They are eight men aged 21 to 45 and a 33-year-old woman. Six work at Zaventem airport.
The Halle-Vilvoorde prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday evening that the nine people arrested had been brought before an investigating judge. The latter placed six of them under arrest warrant, five in prison and one under electronic surveillance. Of the three remaining people, two have been released without charge and one is suspected but has been cleared for the time being.