Drugs gangs resort to serious violence in Brussels

“A drug problem doesn’t go away by letting it linger on.” Brussels MP Mathias Vanden Borre expects Brussels politicians to do more to combat drug violence in the capital. “When the government withdraws, violent gangs take over.”

Over the past few days and weeks, drug violence has been taking on increasingly reckless proportions. Two notorious drug clans are fighting a violent territorial war across several municipalities, mainly in Sint-Gillis, Vorst, Anderlecht and Brussels.

Three months of drug violence

A brief overview of facts that the media have obtained in the past three months:

• Shots were fired at the intersection of Herzieningslaan and Eloystraat in Anderlecht on Friday 24 April at about 9.40 p.m. One injured person was taken to hospital. The public prosecutor opened an investigation into several individuals.
• On Monday 11 May at around 8.40 p.m., shots were fired during gang violence in the vicinity of Olympische dreef in Anderlecht. According to the public prosecutor, a number of people had gone there to fight out an argument. When members of one gang noticed that the other gang was armed, they allegedly drove their cars into their opponents. The latter reacted by firing shots back at them. The shots did not hit anyone, but two people did suffer injuries after the vehicles ran into them.
• That same night, a grenade exploded near the Federal Parliament. It is not yet known who was behind the grenade attack. The public prosecutor’s office is conducting an investigation to identify the perpetrators. Everything points to a settling of scores in the criminal underworld, but the motive is not yet clear.
• On the evening of Thursday 18 June at around 11.30 p.m. at the Heldenplein in Sint-Gillis, witnesses watched and filmed a man in a purple jacket as he fired four shots at another person. When the police arrived at the scene, the perpetrator had already fled. One man was slightly injured during the incident and was taken to hospital for treatment.
• Last weekend on Orbanplein in Vorst, one man was killed with a Kalashnikov, and two other very young men were wounded.

Two clans fight for control of the cannabis trade

According to Mathias Vanden Borre, the drug war has been going on for months. “The clans both want to gain control of the cannabis trade, even if it means using brute force. Police sources speak of a relatively new challenger: a criminal family from Sint-Gillis. This family has rapidly built up a serious reputation and wants to expand its drug trafficking activities, including to Orbanplein, where the violent events of this weekend took place. “The other gang is an established drug clan from Anderlecht.”

The Ecolo mayor of Vorst has the “solution”: legalisation

The mayor of Vorst Stefan Roberti (Ecolo) sees the legalisation of cannabis as the solution. However, Mathias Vanden Borre doesn’t agree. “No, legalisation is definitely not the solution. Drugs cause many social problems. As a society, we must not send the signal that drugs are OK, with all the consequences that that entails. Of course, prevention and assistance must take priority over repression. However, we can’t let the drug gangs win. Brussels, for example, is far too lax with the so-called weed shops, where in many cases banned and highly harmful substances are for sale.”

Fighting drug gangs is not a priority for PS

Mathias Vanden Borre believes that the Brussels-Capital Region can do much more to combat gangs and illegal drugs under the leadership of Minister-President Rudi Vervoort (PS). Although Rudi Vervoort doesn’t seem to make it a priority. For instance, a unified camera system for the six police zones would be useful in detecting gangs. After six years and many tens of millions of euros, this is still not operational.

Drug possession doubles, but politics remains deafeningly silent

Mathias Vanden Borre refers to the crime rates related to gangs and drugs between 2008 and 2018. “Actually, they should set all the alarm bells ringing. The ruling political class, however, remains deafeningly silent. Narcotics possession has more than doubled. Narcotics sales have also doubled. Illegal possession of weapons has risen by 70%. This is reason enough to take the fight against gang violence and drugs seriously.”

The mayor asks police not to be too harsh

Mathias Vanden Borre concludes: “I hear from police sources that Mayor Roberti is asking the police not to act too strictly in the vicinity of Orbanplein. Is he afraid of reprisals from the drug gangs? Or perhaps he’s hoping the problem will go away on its own? The local residents are already complaining that more checks are needed. And rightly so. Because when you let a drug problem linger on, it doesn’t go away. On the contrary, when the government withdraws, violent gangs take over.”