Special police forces raided as part of investigation into organised crime

Special police forces raided as part of investigation into organised crime
The headquarters of a highly trained federal police unit was one of several places raided as part of an investigation into criminal activities. Credit: © Belga

The headquarters of a highly trained federal police unit in Brussels were one of several places targetted by a police raid as part of an ongoing investigation of a vast criminal organisation active in Belgium.

Ten arrests warrants were issued against unidentified persons after the raid, which was ordered by police oversight body Comité P and by an investigative judge in Charleroi, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The headquarters of the Special Unit federal police force, located in Brussels, were among the 25 places searched during raids that were carried out 5 November.

The raids were carried out as part of a wider federal investigation on a criminal organisation suspected of "concealment, forgery, fraud and of breaching arms legislation."

The Special Unit is the federal police's tactical forces and is made up of highly trained officers whose responsibilities include carrying out high-risk arrests as well as dealing with hostage situations, kidnappings or cases involving terrorism.

In the statement, the federal prosecutor's office said that none of the arrests warrants issued targetted a police officer, and that a search does not imply a presumption of guilt, adding that no further information would be released with the investigation ongoing.

Gabriela Galindo

The Brussels Times


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