Criminal gangs in Belgium are using Airbnb-type short-term rentals to store and pack drugs, weapons and cash, as well as to shelter people, the country’s national drug commissioner, Ine Van Wymersch, told the Guardian.
Authorities do not have a precise estimate of the scale of the problem. Van Wymersch said criminals were exploiting flexible bookings, including the ability to rent a property for only a few days or cancel if a shipment changes destination.
Recent seizures illustrate the concern
At the beginning of August, police seized 3.3kg of cocaine and €4,845 in cash from an Airbnb-rented apartment in central Brussels. The property was believed to have been used to store and pack drugs, according to the news agency Belga.
A separate case showed the potential scale of trafficking linked to such properties. In 2024, 11 people were sentenced over a drug-trafficking operation between Belgium and the UK after €21m worth of drugs was seized from an Airbnb rental in Staden, West Flanders.
Platforms and delivery networks face scrutiny
Van Wymersch said short-term rental companies served a legitimate legal purpose but needed to become more resilient against criminal abuse. Airbnb Belgium declined to comment directly and referred to remarks by its France and Benelux country manager, Clément Eulry, who said criminal bookings were an extreme minority among the millions processed each year.
Eulry said Airbnb uses measures including artificial intelligence to identify suspicious bookings and notifies police and local authorities about reports of problematic renters. Van Wymersch said her team planned to contact online booking platforms to understand how they define suspicious bookings and how authorities could help strengthen their safeguards.
The commissioner also identified anonymous email accounts, encrypted communications, cryptocurrency and parcel deliveries as tools that can facilitate organised crime. She said delivery companies were particularly vulnerable because an ordinary van stopping at a neighbour’s home and handing over a package may not appear suspicious.
The wider strategy targets criminal money
Van Wymersch became Belgium’s first national drug commissioner in 2023, after Antwerp had become one of Europe’s main gateways for cocaine and the country experienced drug-related violence and threats. She said her priority was to target criminal money, including through inspections of small businesses such as hairdressers, nail bars and night shops that may be used for money laundering.
She described organised crime as increasingly decentralised, with separate gangs specialising in activities such as money laundering, procuring or using weapons. Her approach also includes preventing young people from being drawn into gangs through education, anti-poverty measures, housing and adequate pay for delivery workers.
Police recorded 101 shootings in Brussels in 2025, local media reported. Van Wymersch said reducing shootings would require more than repression because social vulnerability and a lack of prospects also contribute to recruitment into drug gangs.
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