Riemst (Brussels Morning) – An extensive drug lab was found in a house on Visésteenweg in Riemst. The lab was hidden in an underground marl quarry. Drug waste was probably dumped into the caves.
People and neighbours gather around the building, a former electrical store, to witness the major police operation. Residents were startled when the police raided the house, where an electrical store used to be located. “But it has been closed for a long time,” stated the neighbours. “A Dutchman moved into this building five years ago.” The 58-year-old resident of the house has now been arrested. A second person was handcuffed. The duo was interrogated and arrested by the investigating judge. They are suspected of producing amphetamines, also known as speed in street language.
Where was the drug lab hidden in Riemst?
Inside operations, Police investigators found a drug lab or storage facility for drugs, seven meters below the house. “Following the suspicion of the presence of a drug lab, an investigation was started this spring by the investigating judge in Tongeren,” says press magistrate Pieter Strauven of the Limburg public prosecutor’s office. “After intensive investigation by FGP Limburg, the house was raided.”
What safety measures were taken during the raid?
Researchers put on gas suits, a gas bottles on their backs. This clothing protects investigators against chemicals, such as corrosive acids, bases, solvents and gases. These are all dangerous products that illegal drug labs use. The cleanup and dismantling of the drug lab is a particularly dangerous operation.
How did neighbours react to the police operation?
The neighbourhood reacts with surprise. “It’s fortunate that the lab was discovered,” says neighbour Maud Vanhaevere, who only recently moved to the house next to the drug lab. “Imagine if something had ever gone wrong here. Then my house would have flown into the air.”
None of the neighbours suspected that a drug lab was located in the former electrical store. “When the Dutchman came to live here five years ago, he replaced the roof,” says a neighbour. “Otherwise, the man actually had no contact with anyone. He lived a secluded life but was very quiet. There was also no suspicious activity. He even hung a Belgian flag before the start of the European Championship.”
What was the Mayor’s reaction to the Riemst Raid?
Mayor Mark Vos (CD&V) of Riemst stresses that the marl cave in which the lab was found is not connected to the Grote Berg in Zussen, the kilometre-long underground tunnel system. “This involved a local pit on private property, under the house,” the mayor explains.
“You often find small holes like this under old houses here. In the past, these pits were dug to extract marl blocks for the construction of the house. But they are not connected to the large marl quarry. Our cave walkers carry out checks twice a week in the tunnel system of the Grote Berg Marl quarry and have certainly not found anything in recent weeks or months. It’s not that easy to get into there, so I would be surprised that drug waste is dumped there.”
Due to the large number of vehicles in front of the house, one lane of the Visésteenweg was closed on Thursday morning. Temporary traffic lights ensure that traffic can pass smoothly on the connecting road between Riemst and Bilzen.
