Drug Barons Abroad Fuel Brussels Gang Violence, Expert Warns

In total, three shootings occurred in three days in Anderlecht. A surge of violence that is worrying and questioning. "The street violence related to drugs in the streets of Brussels is not new, but has reached new heights lately. In recent years, we have counted many shootouts between rival gangs, sometimes with war weapons," explains Faroek Özgünes, a journalist specializing in crime issues, in an interview with HLN. He specified that Brussels recorded 9 deaths in 89 incidents involving a firearm in 2024. "The previous year, seven people lost their lives in such circumstances. It is becoming increasingly tense and the year has only just begun," he said.

According to Özgünes, the perpetrators of these shootings are mostly young people. "In the images of the shooting at the Clemenceau metro station, we see that the perpetrators are still young, maybe even minors. They are easily recruited and seduced, because for them it’s easy money. If they die in settling scores or are arrested, they are quickly replaced," the journalist further explains. He will continue: "the police have reported several links with drug-related violence in Marseille. The use of heavy weapons such as Kalashnikovs, the shootings in the streets and the presence of known French figures leading the gangs are elements that go in this direction."

Özgünes also made recommendations that could help stop this violence. "First, we need to limit arms trafficking," he advocates. After the 2016 attacks, it was difficult to obtain war weapons and ammunition, but this is no longer the case. Last September, the Federal Judicial Police of Brussels seized 110 semi-automatic firearms and a large quantity of ammunition." He also proposes to "tackle the drug barons who, in complete safety from Dubai, Turkey and Morocco, direct their troops on the ground and are directly responsible for drug-related violence."