Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne has been placed under increased police surveillance and three people have been arrested in the Netherlands following a “serious” threat against the official, the federal prosecutor’s office announced on Saturday.
According to the Flemish daily Het Laatste Nieuws, firearms were discovered inside a vehicle registered in the Netherlands spotted in front of the home of the minister in the suburbs of Kortrijk (north-west).
The federal prosecutor’s office declined to confirm this information.
In a press release, the prosecution said that three people had been arrested overnight from Friday to Saturday in the Netherlands. Their transfer to Belgium has been requested.
The prosecutor’s office specifies that it “has been informed during the last week of a possible threat” to the Minister of Justice. An investigation, entrusted to an investigating judge, “quickly indicated that this threat should be taken seriously”, he added.
The minister has been placed under reinforced police surveillance, and will not take part in certain activities planned for the “coming days”. The prosecution declined to provide any further details of the investigation.