Some 19 suspects were arrested on Tuesday as part of the large-scale police operation carried out against a gang of drug traffickers operating in the Peterbos district, in the municipality of Anderlecht, the Brussels prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday. Four suspects have already been placed under arrest warrant. The others will appear before the investigating judge in the coming hours.
“This operation is part of three separate judicial investigations, structured around the problem of the Peterbos district. These investigations are directed and coordinated by investigating judges from Brussels and by the organized crime section of the Brussels public prosecutor’s office “, specified the prosecution.
The police operation carried out on Tuesday made it possible to dismantle an international criminal organization allegedly active in drug trafficking. This gang would have branches as far as Marseille, and would specialize in cocaine and cannabis trafficking.
Months of intensive investigation have established that this criminal organization could be linked to several shootings, kidnappings, violence and assassination attempts that have occurred in Brussels in recent times. In total, 25 searches were carried out on Tuesday as part of these three files, leading to the arrest of 19 suspects, including 17 in Belgium and two in Marseille – and this “thanks to the good collaboration between the Belgian judicial and police authorities and French.
“At this stage, four suspects have been charged with being a member or leader of a criminal organization, attempted murder, selling drugs in association, selling drugs in association as a leader, possession of weapons, theft with violence and money laundering,” continues the prosecution. They were placed under arrest warrant.
The other suspects are still being questioned and the investigating judges will decide whether or not to place them in preventive detention in the coming hours.
