Last year, public prosecutor Julien Moinil demanded more resources to battle drug-related violence plaguing the Belgian capital. But those demands have “absolutely not” been taken seriously, Moinil said Friday, speaking in the aftermath of a new series of shootings. The Belgian capital witnessed a recent wave of violence across various municipalities, including an attack on a police station in Anderlecht and multiple shootings in Molenbeek and Saint-Gilles.
The incidents reported in Saint-Gilles were linked to a fight between two drug-trafficking gangs. Still, innocent citizens were caught in the crossfire, the prosecutor said: In one attack, clients of a pizzeria had to seek cover from the flying bullets. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever is convening a meeting with the country’s security services Friday afternoon to discuss drug-related shootings, Le Soir reports.
Since 2025, the police have arrested 93 adults and 14 underage suspects; closed 350 stores; and seized 3,500 luxury cars — which traffickers like to tour Brussels in, according to Moinil — and several thousand users were penalized. By Thursday, the prosecutor’s office had also seized €203 million from criminals in the capital. He noted that the €10 million in extra resources he’d requested to step up his fight against drug violence was not “excessive” compared with the €203 million already seized.
Moinil also called for stricter measures against undocumented and underage people involved in crimes, claiming undocumented people constituted a “cheap and easily available workforce” for drug gangs and warning of major gaps in enforcement. He also called for better resources to deal with drug addicts; bolstered resources for federal judicial police, which he said is grappling with a shortage of 80 investigators; and more international collaboration to target major gang leaders who he said are either in prison or abroad.
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