A bundle of Easter bunnies seized from veteran customs officer Pol Meuleneire was made from a lump of MDMA – the raw essence of the party drug ecstasy.
Known as the gateway to Europe for Latin American cocaine, Belgium has now also become an arena for mail-order synthetic drugs produced in Europe and shipped worldwide.
The fake chocolate bunnies were packed and shipped in Belgium, destined for a buyer in Hong Kong, only to be intercepted at Brussels Airport’s cargo terminal.
Using a scanner that uses Raman spectroscopy to identify substances based on their chemical fingerprint, Meuleneire took a measurement on a chocolate rabbit.
The screen flashed green and the analysis was clear: “Warning: MDMA (Ecstasy)”.
This photo taken at Brussels airport in Zaventem on April 6, 2023 shows a package of images with ecstasy
A Belgian customs officer opens a bottle of ecstasy pills while inspecting packages at Brussels airport in Zaventem on April 6, 2023
A Belgian customs official uses a “Raman” scanner to check a chocolate bunny at Brussels Airport in Zaventem on April 6, 2023.
‘Do you see now? It’s pure MDMA,” the 61-year-old said, according to France24. “So here we have a kilo or two of it. One kilo makes six thousand ecstasy pills.”
Several more shipments of illegal drugs came in last week from packages received in the past week.
A Peppa Pig lunch box destined for New Zealand turned out to be harmless, but the packaging it was transported in was a different story.
A corrugated cardboard packaging container contained ketamine, a recreationally abused anesthetic and sedative for horses, which was one of the fastest-growing illegal exports through the airport’s mail depot.
A Belgian customs officer opens a package of bedding, the box contains MDMA
A Belgian customs officer finds crystal meth in children’s toys at Brussels Airport in Zaventem on April 6, 2023
A Belgian customs official uses a “Raman” scanner to check a chocolate bunny at Brussels Airport in Zaventem on April 6, 2023.
A Belgian customs officer opens a bottle of ecstasy pills while inspecting packages at Brussels airport in Zaventem on April 6, 2023
Ecstasy pills are shown in this photo taken at Brussels airport in Zaventem on April 6, 2023
A Belgian customs official inspects what appears to be a chocolate bunny at Brussels airport in Zaventem, April 6, 2023
A Belgian customs officer opens a bottle of ecstasy pills while inspecting packages at Brussels airport in Zaventem
A sealed bag of crystal meth, an illegal and addictive synthetic stimulant, was found in a children’s chemistry kit used to study crystal growth.
The bulk of mail-order exports are synthetic drugs made in fraudulent laboratories and clandestine pharmaceutical factories in Belgium and, according to Belgian officials, the Netherlands in particular.
Ketamine, MDMA and methamphetamine are disguised in everyday objects or packaged in jars labeled as legal vitamin supplements and then shipped from regular post offices in Belgium, France and Germany.
“Here we are mainly talking about the use of the Belgian Post, which perhaps attracts less attention than the Dutch from customs officials in the countries of arrival,” a customs official told AFP.
“The smugglers use mules to transport the packages and ship them from all over Belgium and other European countries and send them around the world.”
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
