Police intercepted gangs from Mons and La Louvière at Mons train station on Saturday afternoon, preventing a clash that had been planned for the city centre, local police reported.
Officers from the Mons-Quévy police zone, in close collaboration with their counterparts from La Louvière, the Federal Railway Police and the Brussels Federal Reserve, carried out an operation on Saturday afternoon aimed at intercepting presumed members of the gangs ahead of the planned confrontation.
“The guys from La Louvière had joined a train bound for Mons, where police were waiting for them in large numbers on the quay itself,” said Jean-Hubert Nicolay, commanding officer of the Mons-Quévy police zone. “Thirty-five individuals from Mons and La Louvière, adults as well as minors, have been placed under administrative arrest.”
“Everything went calmly and without the least incident,” Nicolay said, adding that some of the gang members carried weapons and charges will be filed against them.
The Mons police said Mayor Nicolas Martin was informed of the events in real time and welcomed the success of the operation, which saved the city from major unrest just a week after the havoc wreaked by rioters in downtown Liège.
The Brussels Times
