New investigation by national broadcaster RTBF reveals methods used by drug traffickers to recruit young hitmen in the capital.
The investigation reveals how contracts linked to the capital's drug wars are openly advertised on platforms such as Telegram, Signal, Snapchat and WhatsApp.
According to testimonies gathered by journalists, prices for violence have fallen sharply and the number of young recruits willing to carry out shootings has surged.
"I know that now it's €2,000 to shoot someone in the leg," one young gunman said anonymously to RTBF. "To kill someone, it's around €4,000 to €5,000."
Another admitted to RTBF that murders once commanded up to €10,000 but have become cheaper due to growing competition among recruits.
Belgium recorded around 100 drug-related shootings in 2025 alone, leaving eight people dead and more than 40 injured.
Police say many of the shooters are minors or vulnerable young men recruited online with promises of quick money.
"These are genuine classified ads," explained François Thevelle, who specialises in digital investigations and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) within the federal judicial police, to the national broadcaster.
"Recruitment no longer happens through loyalty to a clan, but through financial opportunism," Thevelle added.
The investigation reveals traffickers deliberately use encrypted apps and disappearing messages to compartmentalise operations, ensuring recruiters and young shooters often never know each other's real identities.
Authorities also warn that the shooters are frequently inexperienced and unpredictable, increasing the risk to bystanders.
"We have already had collateral victims who had absolutely nothing to do with the facts," said Nicolas Bawin, head of the criminal investigations unit within the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone, to RTBF.
The investigation also highlights growing concern over shortages in Belgium's youth protection and rehabilitation systems, with long waiting lists for specialised support and detention centres.
Former inmates and community organisations interviewed by RTBF argued that stable employment and reintegration programmes remain one of the few realistic ways to prevent vulnerable teenagers from being drawn into the narco economy.
