Belgian federal judicial police dismantled a large synthetic drugs laboratory in an industrial unit on Opitterkiezel in Bree, near the Dutch border, following a raid on September 16, 2026. Four Dutch men – aged 30, 35, 43 and 61, from Weert, Sittard and Venlo – were arrested at the scene; a 34-year-old woman from Bree was arrested days later during a follow-up search, during which police seized a further 30,000 euros in cash.
Investigators recovered 180 kilograms of finished MDMA crystals – enough to produce roughly 800,000 pills worth an estimated 2.5 million euros – along with more than 700 kilograms of precursor chemicals, 13 gas cylinders and three vehicles. Limburg’s civil protection service assisted in safely dismantling the lab. Chief Commissioner Sophie Lever of the Federal Judicial Police Limburg (FGP Limburg) said the lab’s impact on the environment, public health and young people was “anything but positive,” while prosecutor Frank Bleyen said drug production fuels violence, extortion and criminal networks, calling for continued investment in enforcement.
Source: Federal Judicial Police Limburg (FGP Limburg) / Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, via VRT NWS, 18 September 2026.
