The 33 agents of the regional Security Control team at Brussels Airport have been forced to give up their weapons following a staff member threatening his colleague with his service pistol. The Belgian newspapers La Dernière Heure and Het Laatste Nieuws have been reporting about the incident and decision to retract the weapons today (Monday).
The decision to temporarily strip customs officers of their weapons was taken to avoid a serious altercation. It arose following “a clash between two individuals” involving harassment and indeed threats. So the SPF Finances, which is reponsible for customs issues, indicates.
“An internal inquiry has been opened. The weapons will not be given back to customs officers whilst this is in progress.”
The Customs and Excise Duties Directorate considered that disarming the service was "a necessary precautionary measure both to halt the escalation of events and not to aggravate the current situation," stated the SPF Finances to the media.
(Source: Belga)
