Brussels family held hostage by fake police

Brussels family held hostage by fake police
© Belga

Police in Brussels are investigating an attack in the Forest commune of the city yesterday in which three men posing as police officers forced entry to a family home and handcuffed a father and his three sons.

The men, wearing uniforms and carrying handcuffs and police radios, claimed to be there to carry out a house search. The householder was pushed inside and handcuffed, as were his three sons aged 15 to 20. The mother of the family was not at that point at home.

The three invaders were unidentifiable as they were wearing face masks. They did appear to search the house, entering at about 07.00 and only leaving around 10.45. Nothing was taken, and the family was unharmed. The men left, saying they would be back later with a search warrant.

One of the family managed to free himself and contacted a relative, who called the police. Officers from the Brussels-South zone attended, and it soon became clear there was no house search planned, meaning the men concerned were fake officers.

The prosecutor’s office issued a brief statement:

“On Thursday, January 28 at around 12.00, the police were called to intervene in Forest after a house burglary by three people posing as police officers.”

As yet, there is no indication as to why the family might have been selected for a search, or if that is indeed what happened.

The investigation is ongoing and in the interest of the investigation there will be no further communication,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Alan Hope

The Brussels Times


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