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Eight drug underworld figures have been arrested in connection with a suspected plot to assassinate the chief prosecutor brusselsBelgian officials have said.
The arrests were made following raids on 18 premises in the nearby city of Leuven on Tuesday, according to Belgium’s state prosecutor’s department.
The raids followed a four-month investigation after receiving intelligence about a plot to kill Julien Moinil, who took over as the capital’s chief prosecutor in January this year.
A statement from the department said: “In July 2025, the State Prosecutor’s Office was informed by the Brussels Police about a plot aimed at assassinating the Brussels Chief Prosecutor.
“The main suspects appear to have links to organized criminal records drugs smuggling, and may have been active within the Albanian criminal mafia.
Brussels has been plagued by violence linked to drug gangs in recent years, and authorities have said more than 100 of Europe’s most dangerous criminal networks operate here. belgium,
according to euronews78 shooting By the end of October 2025 were recorded, with at least 20 reported in the summer alone.
In February this year, authorities had to close several Brussels metro stations as they searched for two suspects following a shooting linked to drug dealers.
Federal prosecutor Ann Fransen said in a statement euronews: “This investigation once again demonstrates the urgent need for better protection of police officers and magistrates who fight organized crime on a daily basis and, as a result, become targets of these organisations.”
At a press conference in the summer, Mr Moinil said: “Anyone, every Brussels resident and every citizen, can be hit by a stray bullet.”
port of belgium antwerp35 miles (55 kilometers) to the north, the European import center for cocaine is booming.