News about a raft of shootings in Brussels last week was hard to miss, as drug violence and organised crime have been dominating the headlines for days.
While no links have been proven yet, police sources believe that they are the result of a new drug-related turf war.
The Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office is currently investigating to "determine if and how these shootings are linked to each other" and which chain of events led to this new bitter drug war in Brussels – fuelled by international organised crime networks fighting for control of the territory and trade.
While the Square Jacques Frank – where the fatal shooting happened – is the centre of a vibrant neighbourhood which extends to Place Bethléem and the Parvis, the area between Chaussée de Forest and the Rue de l’Église de Saint-Gilles is a known drug-selling spot, going back years, my colleague Ugo Realfonzo writes.
While people from the neighbourhood are likely to be seen grocery shopping, socialising on benches with children or playing on the basketball courts, there has been a marked increase in open drug use, mainly crack, in the area around the Porte de Hal – just a stone's throw away.
This is because the turf around Square Jacques Frank appears to have been the catalyst for the series of shootings in and around the area last week.
Investigators are following the hypothesis of a new territorial war between drug trafficking gangs established in the Peterbos district in Anderlecht, and another group based in this lower part of Saint-Gilles, in and around the Porte de Hal and the Square Jacques Frank.
Want to know more? This article gives a clear insight into what is happening.
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