Antwerp police detain twin sisters after finding two kilograms of cannabis

Belgium’s Federal Public Service Justice is unambiguous on the starting point: cultivating or possessing cannabis remains a criminal offence. For an adult, possession intended for personal use may receive the lowest prosecution priority when the amount is no more than three grams or one cultivated plant and there are no aggravating circumstances or disturbances of public order. Police still draw up a simplified official report — a vereenvoudigd proces-verbaal in Dutch or procès-verbal simplifié in French — and the public prosecutor retains the power to prosecute.

The distinction matters because newcomers sometimes mistake “low prosecution priority” for permission. It is neither a legal allowance to buy cannabis nor a guarantee that police will take no action. Two kilograms is far beyond the federal guideline’s three-gram threshold, while packaging, cash and weighing equipment can become evidence when investigators assess whether possession was linked to supply. The precise legal characterisation in this case is for prosecutors and, if proceedings follow, the courts.

Buying cannabis in the Netherlands does not create a safe exception on returning to Belgium. Dutch retail tolerance is itself subject to domestic conditions, and taking cannabis across the border brings the conduct into Belgian jurisdiction. A rental vehicle changes nothing about the legality of possession or transport. Travellers should also avoid assuming that products sold as CBD are automatically unrestricted: their composition, THC content and intended use can determine which Belgian rules apply.

For an immediate threat or an incident requiring urgent police intervention, call 101; the European emergency number 112 also connects callers to urgent assistance. For a non-urgent concern in the city, Politiezone Antwerpen operates the free, round-the-clock Blauwe Lijn on 0800 123 12. Repeated neighbourhood problems, including recurring drug dealing, can be reported through the force’s e-loket. The local authority is the stad Antwerpen and its police service is Politiezone Antwerpen; outside the city, contact the politiezone serving your gemeente or commune.

Do not confront suspected dealers, search a vehicle yourself or handle discarded packages. Note the location, time, vehicle description and direction of travel only if this can be done safely, then pass factual observations to police. People seeking confidential information about their own or another person’s drug use can contact De Druglijn on 078 15 10 20. Antwerp also lists local support services including Free Clinic on Schijnpoortweg in the 2060 district and De Sleutel’s ambulatory centre on Dambruggestraat.

Language need not prevent someone from reporting an incident or understanding a police interview. Antwerpen’s working administrative language is Dutch, so terms such as aangifte, verhoor and proces-verbaal commonly appear. Federal Justice guidance says that when a person speaks another language than the language of proceedings, police can use a sworn interpreter; official rights information is available in English and many other languages. A suspect should request an interpreter and legal advice rather than signing a statement they do not understand.

The seizure is modest beside international container trafficking, but it illustrates how cannabis circulates through ordinary channels such as passenger cars and rental vehicles. The European Union Drugs Agency reported in its 2025 cannabis overview that cannabis remains a large and profitable illicit market, with criminal networks adapting routes and sometimes using legitimate business structures. It also warned that cannabis policy now varies more sharply across Europe as some countries permit limited possession or home cultivation while others, including Belgium, retain prohibition with selective enforcement priorities.

That patchwork can be especially confusing for internationally mobile residents. Rules encountered in Germany, Luxembourg or the Netherlands do not travel with the product, and crossing an internal Schengen border does not erase national drug laws. Free movement without routine border checks is not freedom to transport controlled substances.

The next procedural step belongs to the Antwerp public prosecutor and investigating judge. Authorities may examine the women’s phones, rental records, packaging and financial evidence, but no such investigative results have yet been disclosed. The key unanswered questions are whether prosecutors will allege possession for sale, whether either woman remains detained and whether the case will ultimately reach the correctional court. Until those decisions are made, the verified facts remain the stop, the searches, the seizures and the appearance before an investigating judge.