Belgian drug barons, often living beyond the reach of the law in Dubai and Turkey, are enlisting Dutch minors to carry out violent attacks in Antwerp, De Standaard reports.
Dutch nationals – especially minors – are playing an increasingly important role in organised crime in Belgium. In July, three Dutch nationals were arrested following an attack on a restaurant in Borgerhout. One of those detained was 17-years-old.
In another incident in the port of Antwerp last May, police arrested six Dutch nationals who were taking drugs out of a shipping container. This group also included one young teen. The very same month, a 17-year-old fled was apprehended after a short chase and was found to be in possession of a firearm and a grenade.
The role of the Dutch in the Belgian drug trade is nothing new. But there has recently been a “sharp increase in underage Dutch nationals”, according to the cabinet of Federal Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne and his Flemish counterpart Zuhal Demir.
De Standaard claims that minors are used to carry out drug-related attacks in Antwerp and Mechelen, as well as to collect drugs from shipping containers. This appears to be confirmed by the Antwerp public prosecutor's office which reports that last year eight minors were brought to juvenile court in relation to grenade attacks and drug pick-ups.
This year there have been at least five such cases, though the true statistic is likely higher as the East Flanders public prosecutor is responsible for many of the cases.
'Cannon fodder'
Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne says that an increasing number of 15- and 16-year-olds are recruited on the street for small sums. “At best, they get €1,000 to be used as cannon fodder in Belgium,” the minister told De Standaard.
Flemish Minister Demir says that a mere €50 or the promise of a Playstation has been enough to encourage Dutch teens to cross the border to commit often violent crimes. “When we pick them up, we realise that these youths do not realise what they have been used for,” Demir said.
These young Dutch boys are typically “young people on the fringes of society from Rotterdam, the Hague, and Amsterdam,” Van Quickenborne believes. The minister said that drug barons in Dubai and Turkey give orders to middlemen, who in turn recruit minors. The Minister said that Belgian and Dutch authorities are working to crack down on these middlemen.
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The influx of Dutch youths is putting pressure on the Belgian prison system. Last year, at least 41 Dutch minors were put into Belgian correctional facilities before being extradited or released back to the Netherlands. Five of them started serving prison sentences in Belgium for over three months before being returned home.
This year alone at least 10 drug-involved minors were deported back to the Netherlands. Demir warns that “drill rap” culture means that crime is increasingly spilling over the border, with young people increasingly carrying weapons.
