(Reuters) – Eight people from the drug trafficking underworld have been arrested in relation to a possible plot to assassinate the Brussels chief prosecutor, said the Belgian state prosecutor’s department on Tuesday.
It said the arrests were made on Tuesday following the searches of 18 premises, mainly in Brussels.
“In July 2025, the state prosecutor’s office was informed by the Brussels police of a plot aiming to kill the Brussels chief prosecutor. The main suspects seem to have a criminal record linked to organised drugs trafficking, and may be active within the Albanian criminal mafia,” said the Belgian prosecutor.
Brussels has been plagued by violence linked to drug gangs in recent years, and officials have said more than 100 of Europe’s most dangerous criminal networks operate in Belgium.
In February this year, authorities had to shut several Brussels metro stations as they hunted two suspects following a shooting linked to drug dealers.
