Belgian men call police on themselves after becoming trapped in shipping container full of cocaine

Two men became trapped in a shipping container full of cocaine in the Port of Antwerp.
Two men became trapped in a shipping container full of cocaine in the Port of Antwerp. Photo credit: Getty

Two men were forced to call the police on themselves after they became trapped in a shipping container full of cocaine on the hottest day ever recorded in Belgium.

Officers responded to a distressed phone call on Wednesday (local time) from the pair who claimed they were stuck inside one of the Port of Antwerp's many containers.

They said they had entered the container "to remove drugs", according to a statement from Antwerp prosecutors.

It took officers two hours to locate the exact container while the men sweltered in the 37C heat - the highest temperature in Belgian recorded history.

When police finally opened the door they found two men, aged 24 and 25, stripped to the waist in an attempt to cool down. The Telegraph reports the suspects "gratefully" gave themselves up, with footage of the arrest showing them being doused in water by port employees as they were arrested.

The men, who are both Antwerp locals, appeared in court the following day and were remanded in custody.

Local newspaper the Gazet reports the cocaine haul found inside the container could have been hundreds of kilograms' worth. 

Antwerp is often targeted by drug smugglers as the gateway to western Europe. In 2018 police seized more than 50 tonnes of cocaine that had been smuggled in from Latin America.

Newshub.