Police have arrested four people for planning kidnapping Minister of Justice of Belgium, Vincent Van Quikenborn. The arrested persons carried several weapons in their vehicles with which they intended to carry out the act.
On Thursday, Van Quikenborn was warned by federal prosecutors of a kidnapping plan against him.Thereafter, the Attorney General was placed under tight security And will not be participating in public events in the coming days.
The first detainee was 21-year-old Dutchman. Three other Dutchmen were also arrested on Dutch soil on Friday night when various weapons were found in a car outside the home of the Dutch justice minister in the Flemish city of Kortrijk.
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According to Belgian media VRT, they found in the car Kalashnikovs, guns and two cans of gasoline.
The exact details of the threat remain unclear.Although there have been rumors of attempted kidnappings from the outset, some Belgian media have linked the incidents to Drug Mafia.
Following his arrest, Van Quikenborn posted a message on social media confirming that he would not be returning to public life for several days. “Let me be clear: the people behind this are doing the opposite of what they intended, and it reinforces my belief that we must keep fighting. Criminals feel cornered. That feeling is right,” he wrote.
Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Crew, said the threat was “totally unacceptable” and warned “No one will intimidate us.”
Belgium has been taking further steps to combat organised crime in recent weeks, announcing a plan to give local authorities more powers to tackle violence.
Drug-related violence escalated in the port city of Antwerp, with more than 89 tons of drugs seized in 2021.
exist In a report last year, European Union police agency Europol published a report citing Belgium and the Netherlands are known as the “centre of the European cocaine market”.
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