In Antwerp and Limburg, these reports can be made on a free telephone line or via the form on a police website. They mainly target cannabis plantations, synthetic drug laboratories or clandestine cigarette factories.
According to Open Vld MP Marianne Verhaert, between its launch in 2019 and mid-October 2022, the Limburg reporting point received 1,173 contacts, which made it possible to discover 39 plantations and six clandestine labs. The one in Antwerp has existed since the end of 2021.
Last year, he received 271 reports and 39 since the start of this year. According to the Minister of Justice, “all citizens of this country must be able to report suspicious activity anonymously”. He envisages a drug reporting point per province, or even a national reporting point.