Belgium faces growing risks from international drug trafficking and could slide toward becoming a "narco-state", senior judicial officials have warned. Bart Willocx tells The Guardian that the huge profits from cocaine smuggling are fuelling corruption, intimidation and violence, posing a danger to the stability of society.
Authorities say the problem is closely linked to the port of Antwerp, one of Europe's main entry points for cocaine shipments from South America. According to Europol, more than 70% of cocaine entering Europe passed through Antwerp and Rotterdam in 2024. The influx has driven violent crime, including shootings, kidnappings and intimidation of port workers and officials.
Judicial officials say organised crime groups are increasingly powerful, bribing employees, recruiting teenagers and threatening judges and prosecutors. Authorities warn that without greater investment in law enforcement and the justice system, the influence of drug gangs could further erode the rule of law in Belgium.
As Bart Willocx states on The Guardian:
The amount of money that is involved - to influence people, to corrupt people and to bribe - it is so big that it is really a danger for the stability of our society. But it is an evolution and it is a pressure - it is a threat. We really have a problem and we should make more investments in staff and in other resources to cope with it.