Belgian Federal Police and local officers in the Vlas zone carried out an unannounced ‘nuisance-control operation’ at Kortrijk railway station on Saturday 26 September, screening passengers arriving on services from France and other Belgian cities. The all-day inspection deployed sniffer dogs and plain-clothes teams to tackle drug trafficking, theft and weapons possession but also to identify breaches of immigration law. Of the nearly 30 offences recorded, two individuals were handed over to the Immigration Office for unlawful stay, while three others were cited for violating residence-status conditions. Police seized cannabis, heroin and the synthetic drug flakka from 23 travellers, underscoring how regional rail is being exploited for low-level cross-border crime. Kortrijk’s mayor Ruth Vandenberghe said such ‘visible interventions’ would continue, as a small number of offenders “create a disproportionate sense of insecurity” around the station precinct. For employers running commuter shuttles or reimbursing rail travel, the operation is a reminder that identity and immigration checks on domestic routes can still impact foreign staff and contractors. Companies should ensure that mobile workers carry valid Belgian or EU residence documents when travelling by train, particularly on lines touching the French border. The raid also reflects Belgium’s wider push to link policing and migration control—a trend likely to intensify once the EU’s Entry/Exit System is mirrored in internal enforcement databases.
Source: The Brussels Times
