Brussels Shaken by Series of Drug-Related Shootings Just Blocks Away From EU Headquarters
At once capital of Belgium and of the European Union, Brussels has been rocked by a series of shootings linked to drug gangs that are happening mere blocks away from the political center of Europe, leading some to call it ‘cocaine city’.
The Saint-Gilles district is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, bordering the City of Brussels itself. There, cocaine and crack keep flowing in unprecedented quantities. Shootings among rival gangs rage, police seize drugs and arrest traffickers almost daily.
But dealers reportedly keep coming back, and the population is fed up, as drug-related violent crimes are becoming increasingly visible.
Associated Press reported:
“’We’re up against mafia-like organizations’, said Jean Spinette, mayor of the Saint-Gilles district, where one man was killed early Wednesday in the culmination of several days of fighting among drug dealers. […] ‘We’re not talking about a little neighborhood deal, a little side business’, Spinette said. […] He said the problem should be tackled upstream by dismantling networks and urged authorities to prosecute criminals faster to avoid a ‘feeling of impunity’.”