In the early hours of Monday, 21 September 2026, the Belgian Federal Police revealed the first results of **ATLAS NEXUS**, a record-breaking joint enforcement sweep that has **arrested more than 490 suspects and seized 156 t of illicit drugs, 468 forged travel documents, and 201 firearms**. The operation, coordinated from Brussels under the EU’s EMPACT framework, brought together law-enforcement and customs teams from 34 countries in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, with technical support from Frontex and Europol. A core target of the three-week action was **document fraud used to facilitate human smuggling and secondary immigration movements into the Schengen Area**. Border agents at Belgian ports and airports carried out intensified checks on travel documents, detecting dozens of high-quality forgeries and intercepting attempts to recycle genuine passports belonging to look-alikes. Investigators say dismantling these forgery workshops will have an immediate impact on illegal entry attempts via Belgium’s external maritime border. The crackdown also exposed sophisticated logistics chains that used passenger luggage, express-freight consignments and even diplomatic pouches to move contraband. According to François Farcy, head of the Federal Judicial Police in Liège, intelligence shared during the operation has already triggered **seven new inquiries into corrupt transport and ground-handling staff at Benelux airports**. For mobility and immigration professionals the message is two-fold: compliance checks on right-to-work documents are likely to tighten as forged residence cards surface, and travellers from certain high-risk origins can expect longer secondary screening at Belgian border posts in the coming weeks. Companies moving staff or goods through Belgium should build extra time into itineraries and ensure all supporting paperwork – invitation letters, hotel confirmations, proof of funds – is in order. EU home-affairs officials hailed ATLAS NEXUS as a blueprint for cooperative enforcement ahead of the **Entry/Exit System (EES) launch in mid-2027**, which will require biometric registration of all non-EU travellers. Belgium’s prominent role in the operation is expected to bolster its bid to host a new EU Centre of Excellence on document security, currently under discussion in the Council.
Source: Belgian Federal Police
