Firearms discovered on board FlixBus on E40 at Jabbeke, half-hour traffic jam caused
A FlixBus was immobilised on Saturday on the hard shoulder of the E40 near Jabbeke following a report of weapons on board. Federal police confirm the discovery of firearms.
Firearms found in intercepted FlixBus on E40
A FlixBus was immobilised on Saturday morning on the hard shoulder of the E40 heading towards Ostend, at the height of Snellegem, approximately 700 metres from Jabbeke motorway service area. According to HLN, the intervention was triggered after one of the drivers alerted police at 11:10 to report weapons on board the vehicle.
Federal motorway police intervened jointly with local police Het Houtsche. "All passengers were asked to get off the bus, then each person was searched," said An Berger, spokeswoman for federal police. "The bus was entirely searched and firearms were indeed found on board."
An explosives detection dog was also deployed to inspect the vehicle, but this operation revealed nothing additional.
The investigation to determine who brought the weapons on board the bus is still ongoing. It had not yet been established at the time of the incident to whom the discovered weapons belonged.
The mayor of Jabbeke, Frank Casteleyn (CD&V+), specified that the fire service had attended the scene in order to distribute water to the bus passengers, who were immobilised for the duration of the intervention.
The disruption to traffic heading towards the coast was significant. "At that point, two traffic lanes remained free for transit traffic," Berger specified. Motorists heading towards the coast were invited to use the Loppem exit. The incident caused a queue of approximately half an hour on the motorway.
Source: HLN