Justice minister wants to make drug lords pay for time in prison
Belgian Justice minister Annelies Verlinden is pushing for tougher measures against organised crime, including forcing drug lords to pay their own prison costs. At the same time, divisions have emerged within the federal government over how quickly the army can be deployed to support police in Brussels.
Verlinden wants judges to be able to use seized criminal funds to cover the cost of their detention, which currently averages at 62,000 euros per prisoner per year. The proposal is part of her plan against organised crime, which aims to punish serious drug criminals more harshly, recover their assets and strengthen public prosecutors' offices, judicial police, courts and prisons.
The Justice minister also proposes deploying drones and jammers to block smuggling and communications in prisons, introducing mandatory drug testing for inmates, and tightening the screening of prison staff. But the FPS Justice is currently struggling with a lack of resources, leading to overcrowded prisons and weak enforcement of high-profile corruption cases. That is why Verlinden is requesting an additional 1 billion euros for the Justice budget by 2029.
Disagreement over military patrols
Meanwhile, Defence minister Theo Francken has insisted that soldiers will not begin patrolling Brussels until April 2026, when Belgium's new Criminal Code comes into force. He argues that the army needs a proper legal framework to search, check IDs and detain suspects, warning that anything less would be “dangerous.”
That position contradicts Interior minister Bernard Quintin’s plan to deploy soldiers to drug hotspots in Brussels by the end of the year, with the option of extending the measure to other cities if requested.
Quintin said he will explore whether existing protocols could allow patrols to start sooner. “The security situation in Brussels is serious,” his cabinet said. “A rapid deployment of military personnel is needed to support the security forces on the ground.”
© BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
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