50 bags of cocaine found in minister’s office, staff member arrested

Fifty bags of cocaine were discovered at the offices of francophone Education minister Caroline Désir last month, La Derniere Heure reported on Thursday evening. The information was confirmed by Désir’s spokesperson. A member of staff has been arrested and nobody else is suspected of involvement.

On 13 December, the cabinet was informed that a staff member, who worked as an economist, had been arrested as part of an investigation into drug trafficking. The minister initiated dismissal proceedings for breach of trust on 14 December. 

“On the same day, a search of his office was carried out to check for any criminal objects. Some 50 bags containing white powder were discovered,” Désir’s spokesperson told the newspaper. “The office contacted a criminal lawyer to begin working with the examining magistrate in charge of the investigation.”

Police then carried out a search of the employee’s office and the areas he had access to. No one else has been questioned.

^{Caroline Désir at a plenary session at the Parliament of Wallonia-Brussels Federation, December 2023 © PHOTO BELPRESS}