On Thursday, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed that all four of the Dutch nationals suspected of attempting to kidnap Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) have been handed over to Belgian authorities.
At the end of September, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office had placed the minister’s home in Kortrijk under heavy surveillance due to a heavily armed vehicle being found near the house.
Four suspects were later identified and arrested in the Netherlands and were suspected of orchestrating a plot to kidnap Van Quickenborne in retaliation against his crackdown on cross-country drug gangs.
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Belgian authorities had asked Dutch judges to extradite the suspects, which was granted to them on 26 October, with the first suspect having been handed over on Monday.
The four men will be presented before the investigating judge in Kortrijk, who will decide whether to issue them an arrest warrant.
Subsequently, the investigation into the attempted kidnapping will remain in the hands of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office.
