Six Arrested in Brussels Gun Smuggling Bust Amid Rising Violence

Lailuma Sadid
Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck

Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): Belgian police arrested six in a gun trafficking operation, seizing 110 untraceable firearms. This year, Brussels has experienced 37 shootings, indicating rising violence.

On September 7, within the setting of a large operation that shut down a group that was believed to be transferring a great deal of firearms inside Brussels, six people were captured by police officers involved in this criminal investigation. Therefore, the cops seized more than 110  weapons and several rounds during their searches. These guns don’t have any tags or numbers on them. 

What Are the Links Between Gun Trafficking Networks?

Investigators think this group might be connected to other bad guys from different countries. They say these connections helped sneak a lot of guns into Belgium. The cops have been watching this group for a while, using plenty of resources and teamwork from different police units for the big raid on September 7th. It has been reported that a judge is leading the investigation, and it’s still going on.

In Brussels, there have been thirty-seven shootings this year alone. In Model City Laken, one person was seriously injured in the shooting incident last week. Other significant events included discovering a body at a construction site in Molenbeek in June, shooting around the Peterbos area of Anderlecht, and multiple gunfire cases simultaneously happening at Saint-Gilles during February. August also saw the murder of a fifty-seven-year-old man when thieves broke into his home located within Ixelles neighborhood. The attackers reached out to their target’s son through a gay dating platform known as Grindr to arrange to meet him.

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Brussels Morning is a daily online newspaper based in Belgium. BM publishes unique and independent coverage on international and European affairs. With a Europe-wide perspective, BM covers policies and politics of the EU, significant Member State developments, and looks at the international agenda with a European perspective.
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Lailuma Sadid is a former diplomat in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Embassy to the kingdom of Belgium, in charge of NATO. She attended the NATO Training courses and speakers for the events at NATO H-Q in Brussels, and also in Nederland, Germany, Estonia, and Azerbaijan. Sadid has is a former Political Reporter for Pajhwok News Agency, covering the London, Conference in 2006 and Lisbon summit in 2010.
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