Four Dutch people were arrested on Tuesday morning during a police check in Antwerp, when they were in possession of a weapon and were carrying incendiary bombs in a vehicle, the Antwerp prosecutor’s office said. Arrested around 5:00 a.m., the four individuals are currently being interviewed. Their intentions remain to be determined, the prosecution said.
An arrest which occurs in a very tense climate
This Monday, the mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever (N-VA) called on Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) to mobilize the National Security Council to deal with the repeated drug-related violence in Antwerp in recent weeks. “A global approach around organized crime is necessary“, he estimated. The mayor also defended his record in the fight against drug trafficking in Antwerp. “We have reduced drug-related crime by several tens of percent. We are the safest metropolis in Belgium”, he defended. According to Mr. De Wever, the resurgence of violence in the streets of Antwerp in recent weeks is the result of this tough approach against the drug world, even if he recognizes that there is still a long way to go.
“Organizing a National Security Council around this issue now is really not the solution”explained Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden. “In March, a consultation took place with the mayors of Rotterdam and Antwerp. Concrete actions were agreed there, such as an update of the plan to combat drug trafficking.”