SAINT-GILS, Belgium (AP) — Cocaine and crack keep flowing. Shootings between rival gangs occur near the center of Brussels. Police seize drugs and arrest traffickers almost every day. But dealers keep coming back and residents are fed up.
Record amount of cocaine seized in EuropeDrug-related violent crimes are becoming increasingly prominent in the European Union’s capitals.
“We are dealing with a mafia-like organization,” said Jean Spinet, mayor of the Saint-Gilles district, where one man was killed in the early hours of Wednesday after days of fighting between drug traffickers.
One of the Saint Gil shootings occurred on Tuesday. The day was a pre-Lent celebration, when many schools are closed to allow children to take to the streets.
The series of incidents caused anxiety throughout Japan.
“We must continue to invest in security,” Interior Minister Anneliese Verlinden told reporters on Thursday. “The events of the last few days show that this is not an unnecessary luxury.”
Antwerp as the main gateway The Belgian port city has long been plagued by gang violence as Latin American cocaine cartels expand into the continent. Drug use is on the rise across the United States, and federal authorities say human trafficking is rapidly infiltrating society.
The Brussels public prosecutor’s office announces new arrests and large drug and cash seizures almost every day.
“It is clear that these are serious issues that are taken very seriously,” the office said.
Expanding expanse crack cocaine And over the past year, open drug dealing and use in some central areas has made petty theft, brawling and harassment of tourists daily headlines in this country of 11.5 million people. By then, it had made an already bad situation worse.
Seven people were killed and 131 injured in drug-related violence in Brussels in 2023, according to police statistics cited by Le Soir newspaper. Federal law enforcement devoted nearly 25% of its investigative capacity last year to drug-related cases across the United States, according to new data released Thursday.
Mr Spinnet said urgent action was needed to combat criminal organizations with transnational links. In Brussels, the influence of gangs from Albania and the French city of Marseille is particularly strong.
Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt said: “I am confident that the police and the justice system can succeed in this matter.”
Last year, an alleged drug trafficker from Marseille was arrested in Brussels. The man was the subject of two arrest warrants in Europe, one of which carried a 12-year prison sentence.
“We’re not talking about little neighborhood deals or little side jobs,” Spinette told RTBF Media Network. He said the problem should be tackled upstream by dismantling networks and called on authorities to prosecute perpetrators faster to avoid a “sense of impunity”.
Despite gentrification along fashionable streets lined with shops, bars and restaurants, large areas of Saint-Gilles remain poor. Its central location makes it a convenient location for dealers, and residents and officials often refer to it as a “drug drive-in.”
The mayor said the traffickers returned just hours after the shooting, angering residents.
“They have the impression that nothing is being done,” Spinette said. “The dealers go right back. There’s a feeling of complete innocence. A feeling that they’re safe from everything and that they’re making fun of the police.”
Wednesday’s killing occurred near a square where drug addicts and dealers gather. It follows a police operation last year to clean Belgium’s main railway gateways. brussels south station, The Porto do Har zone is inundated with users who disrupt the lives of residents and shopkeepers.
“Within four or five months, we actually saw a decline,” said one business owner, who requested anonymity for security reasons. “There was a man giving injections near my store the other day. Some men often come in with blood running down their faces. And so many owners here had their store windows broken. This is intolerable.”
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