Trends Belgium ranks 2nd in the production & exportation of synthetic drugs, says UN report

[Lunar Loops]

This from Expatica.com (article link):

Belgium ranks second in the production and exportation of synthetic drugs, says UN report.

10 September 2008

BELGIUM -- Belgium ranks second after the Netherlands in the production and exportation of synthetic drugs such as ecstasy, reports the daily De Morgen on Wednesday.

The Netherlands is the main producer of amphetamines and ecstasy, reveals the latest report by UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Belgium's central location and the presence of large port facilities such as Antwerp Docks mean Belgium has been an ideal base for cocaine traffickers for many years now.

However, the increased volume of laboratory produced drugs passing though or being made in Belgium is a new trend.

Belgian drugs are not only bound for customers in Europe, but also in Mexico, Canada, Australia and the Middle East.

Belgian police chief Werner Verbruggen told the VRT that 80 percent of the drugs labs are in or near to the Dutch border in Antwerp and Limburg provinces.

The UNODC researchers say that many international smuggling networks also pass through Belgium on their way to Canada and Asia.

[Expat98]

Interesting. The Belgium entry for the 2008 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report produced by U.S. State Dept. starts out with this contradictory statement:

Belgium is not a major market for illicit drugs nor is it a major producer of illicit drugs or chemical precursors used for the production of illicit drugs. However, Belgium is a crucial transit point for a variety of illegal drugs, most significantly, cocaine and heroin. In the past few years Belgium has been a significant supplier of Ecstasy to the U.S. and other parts of the world, but in recent years, due to concentrated police efforts and a decrease in the social trend of Ecstasy consumption, production and trafficking of Ecstasy have been reduced greatly.