drugs
The investigating judge in Turnhout arrested a 59-year-old man on Friday in the investigation into the drug lab on Poederleeseweg. This concerns the drug cook who was resuscitated on the spot. The cause of death of the three other victims is still under investigation.
The drug lab on the Poederleese road, on the border of Lille and Poederlee, was accidentally discovered last Wednesday after an emergency call to the emergency services. An electrician had found several bodies in the business premises. No help was available for three people; a 59-year-old Turkish man was resuscitated on site and taken to hospital.
The man, a drug cook, was brought before the investigating judge on Thursday. “The investigating judge decided to arrest him on suspicion of the production of psychotropic substances in association with death,” says Kato Belmans, spokesperson for the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office. “The suspect will appear before the council chamber on Tuesday, which will decide on his further arrest.”
Autopsy
It is not yet clear how the man’s three companions died. “The judicial investigation is still ongoing,” Belmans continues. “A further autopsy and toxicology examination will be carried out. The results of these investigations should provide more clarity about the cause of death of the three victims.”
It is also not yet known which drugs were made in the lab. The federal judicial police are conducting an investigation under the direction of the investigating judge. The dismantling of the drug lab, by the judicial lab and the Clan Lab Response Unit (CRU), will probably take several days.
