Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever calls for more federal funding to fight drug violence
The mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, called on Friday for the federal judicial police and the public prosecutor's office to be strengthened in the fight against drug violence. His comments come after explosions at a local supermarket on Thursday night.
Antwerp has seen its fair share of violence and threats recently. Investigating judges live under special security or in a safe house. On Tuesday, bullet holes and several bullet casings were discovered in the facade of the popular Hopper café. And on Thursday evening, just a few hundred metres away, unknown assailants threw firebombs or fireworks into a Colruyt supermarket.
De Wever described the incidents as "particularly worrying". As the investigations are still ongoing, the mayor stressed that any link to the drug scene in these cases is still uncertain. But the federal judicial police and the public prosecutor's office "urgently" need more reinforcements, says the N-VA leader, if Belgium wants to avoid an escalation of drug violence like in the Netherlands.
"Europe needs wake-up call"
The same goes for Europe. The N-VA has argued that the EU should invest more in police and judicial cooperation, fighting organised crime and protecting ports from drug-related crime. Experts fear that inaction will turn Belgium into a narco-state.
"It is very clear that in Europe we have not even seen the tip of the criminal iceberg," De Wever said on Friday, adding that criminal organisations were undermining our society. "Unfortunately, there is still a lack of broad political and social awareness. Our continent really needs a wake-up call."
"It is very clear that in Europe we have not even seen the tip of the criminal iceberg"
De Wever may be in a position to make that happen, at least at the federal level. As well as being the mayor of Antwerp and leader of the N-VA, he is also the formateur, leading the negotiations to form Belgium's next government.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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