May 27, 2025
'Belgian drug labs are getting better and bigger'
In 2024, 33 drug labs were dismantled in Belgium, a decrease of almost twenty percent compared to the previous year. However, according to the Belgian federal police, that figure does not say everything, writes research platform Apache . The production capacity of individual labs has increased significantly in recent years.
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Economies of scale
While in 2017 there were still eight labs with a relatively limited production, some current labs are able to produce ten times as much synthetic drugs. The increase in scale is particularly visible in the amphetamine labs, where classic laboratory equipment has been replaced by industrial boilers of up to 4,000 liters, resulting in hundreds of kilos of drugs per production round.
China
The production of MDMA, the active substance in ecstasy, remains substantial in Belgium. In 2024, five labs were dismantled that were suspected of producing MDMA. The production techniques overlap with those of methamphetamine, which sometimes causes confusion in forensic investigations. The raw materials for MDMA often enter Belgium via the Bierset airport, directly from China.
Substances such as PMK and BMK, which are crucial for production, are sometimes also introduced via preprecursors. These precursor substances are not regulated and can be converted into the active components in so-called conversion labs.
Crystallization of procaine
Cocaine production in Belgium is on a smaller scale, but shows a clear increase in complexity. In 2024, two cocaine laundries and five cutting locations were busted. Also notable was the discovery of a crystallization lab for procaine, a cheap narcotic that strongly resembles cocaine after processing and is often used to cut it.
Unlike pure cocaine, procaine does not sparkle. By crystallizing procaine, heavily cut cocaine is less easy to detect.
The production of cocaine is becoming increasingly varied and sometimes reaches industrial scale, with underground laboratories and large-scale storage of chemicals. Today, the dismantling of a few such labs in Belgium was made public by Europol.
Dutch connection
The Netherlands continues to play a central role in cross-border drug production. In 2024, 167 production sites for synthetic drugs, cocaine and heroin were dismantled. Some 90 to 95 percent of Belgian labs have a link with the Netherlands: production material comes from there and finished drugs return there.
Dutch criminals also increasingly move to Belgium, Germany and Spain when they come under too much scrutiny from police and citizens in their own country. The Flemish border region is attractive to them due to its similarity in language, infrastructure and relative inconspicuousness.
New resources
The production of new synthetic substances continues to evolve. For example, in 2024, a lab was discovered for the production of synthetic cathinones, a relatively new drug with amphetamine-like properties. This development points to a market-driven dynamic: drug production follows demand. Criminals are constantly exploring new products and methods to serve the market and evade detection. The police are therefore seeing increasingly diverse lab types and raw material flows emerge, in which international cooperation is essential.
Legalizing MDMA
In Belgium, voices are being raised to make MDMA legal. The association Smart on Drugs advocates a regulated market for MDMA, because the largest group of users in Belgium uses ecstasy in a recreational and non-problematic way.
Research shows that regular users would like to see sales in a pharmacy setting, because of the safety of the product, information provision and age verification. According to the users in that study, production should be in the hands of a few companies with a government license, and should not be left to the free market.
https://www.crimesite.nl/belgische-drugslabs-worden-beter-en-groter/
