Beringen-Ham-Tessenderlo (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Police from the Beringen-Ham-Tessenderlo local zone arrested the car with German plates after a fugitive chase. Officers found both illicit drugs and a large amount of money throughout the vehicle’s search, and the three passengers appeared on wanted lists around the world.
The Beringen-Ham-Tessenderlo police zone engaged in high-speed driving before stopping a vehicle with a German registration in Beringen in Limburg. The Audi, with five people inside, came to a stop in a dead-end street on the Oude Baan in Paal. Law enforcement officers recovered illegal narcotics along with substantial cash during their investigation. Three passengers of the vehicle had active warrants from German authorities due to their illegal residency.
The arrest team conducted formal questioning of four adult male suspects between 20 and 33 years old who received police detention while officials seized their automobile.
Police conducted this operation when they initiated enforcement throughout Limburg province. Police encountered the Audi at the E313 exit 26 near 8:30 PM on Friday. A police check for routine purposes triggered a driver escape that forced police to immediately dispatch two patrol cars for pursuit. The fleeing car stopped at a roadblock leading to a dead-end street before its occupants tried to run away from police. All five suspects were apprehended after police quickly intervened with backup from federal police air personnel.
The vehicle search produced both narcotics and 4,000 euros of cash inside a coat and a trunk full of clothes. Per Police protocol, the suspects faced charges of narcotics possession together with illegal residence and money laundering offences. The public prosecutor’s office required all seized funds to be confiscated.
The vehicle was brought to a standstill in a dead-end street on the Oude Baan in Paal,
the local police zone Beringen-Ham-Tessenderlo announced in a press release.
The occupants tried to escape on foot, but thanks to a quick police intervention and air support from the federal police, the driver and the other four suspects were all arrested.
What is the history behind the Beringen police interception?
Belgian police services implemented the Audi interception operation at Beringen as part of an ongoing initiative against border crimes in Limburg, which exists near German and Dutch territories where drug smuggling activities thrive most.
Recent Europol data shows that border crimes across the EU increased by 15% during the past years, while narcotics trafficking stands out as one major issue alongside money laundering operations. Belgian law enforcement agents confiscated more than 50 tons of drugs in 2022, which showed Limburg province made up about 20% of the total drug seizure cases.
Cases where federal police employ air support for their operations, have proven essential in recent times, as agencies conducted more than 200 successful interdictions last year. Since 2021, German-Belgian police forces have increased their mutual operations, bringing about a 30% increase in arrests for violations related to illegal residence.
