Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Amid rising drug violence and shootings in Brussels, Prosecutor Julien Moinil seeks more resources. Belgium plans to use seized drug money to fund security, with Commissioner Ine Van Wymersch aiming for better asset recovery and inter-agency cooperation.
Brussels Prosecutor Julien Moinil has asked for more staff and resources to address the rising drug violence in the city. This comes after some recent shootings. In response, the new Belgian government has created a plan to use money from drug crimes to help fight organized crime.
The plan says that extra money from better prosecution and asset collection will be used in the budget to support security departments in the Interior and Justice ministries. Previously, money taken from criminals went into the federal budget without being used for crime-fighting. Now, the government wants to put this money back into security efforts. They hope to create a system where criminals help pay for the fight against drug crime.
How can Belgium strengthen its fight against drug crime?
National Drugs Commissioner Ine Van Wymersch supports a new plan to fight drug crime. She wants to affect the money sources of drug networks. She says a better asset recovery system could bring in about €40 million each year for law enforcement and community programs.
Her efforts helped the federal government set aside €10 million for over 100 projects that target drug-related issues. This change is part of a larger strategy to improve Belgium’s fight against organized crime. By using money from criminals, the government aims to strengthen law enforcement and make communities safer.
“The additional revenues generated by this more efficient prosecution and collection will be used as a priority in the annual budget preparation to meet the budgetary needs and investments at the security departments of the Interior and justice,”
The Arizona agreement states.
According to Ine Van Wymersch, Belgium’s National Drugs Commissioner, drug criminals in Belgium make a lot of money, mainly from cocaine. They use this money to buy weapons and recruit young people. This makes organised crime worse.
Van Wymersch believes Belgium should use money taken from criminals to fight crime. Right now, the money goes into the general budget, but it doesn’t help law enforcement. She mentioned that other countries like the Netherlands and France already use seized drug money to support their police. Van Wymersch thinks Belgium should do the same to better fight crime.
According to Ine Van Wymersch, fighting organized crime needs help from more than just the police and courts. The tax office has important money information that can help find criminal groups. Right now, these agencies do not share information well.
Van Wymersch believes they need to work together better. This teamwork can help Belgium fight drug crime more effectively. She mentioned that it would make it harder for criminals to hide their money and keep doing illegal things.
Van Wymersch said:
“We also need other departments, such as finance, because the tax authorities have a lot of information. It is very good that we are going to connect all these islands and shift up a gear.”
