Belgium is entering "a new era of crime" which could have "catastrophic" consequences for the average citizen, a leading judge has claimed.
Speaking to La Dernière Heure (DH), former Qatargate judge Michel Claise said that the recent high-profile trials of criminal groups such as the Sky ECC network is just a fraction of the "frightening" level of criminality throughout the country.
"We cannot say that the fight against criminal organisations is truly effective despite the high-profile cases such as the dismantling of the Sky ECC operation. This is just the tip of the iceberg."
"We are entering a new era of crime because of this feeling of impunity and the corruption that continues through money laundering," he added. "The power of criminal organisations is currently rising in a frightening way."
'You can get a grenade for €50'
Claise also pointed to recent explosions and gun violence in Borgerhout – a neighbourhood in Antwerp which is at the centre of the city's ongoing drug war – as well as the brutal murder involving Kalashnikov rifles in Anderlecht on Wednesday night as examples of the dangers facing ordinary citizens.
"What is happening is a continuation of a situation that has existed for years and which is catastrophic in terms of security for the ordinary citizen who could very well, one day, take a stray bullet," Claise said.
"We tell ourselves that thugs kill each other but shootings also break out in the street and can inflict damage on people who have nothing to do with it. I think that this kind of settling of scores will intensify and gain momentum in Belgian cities."
In January an 11-year-old girl was killed in a drug-related retaliation in Antwerp.
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Intriguingly, Claise suggested that many of the weapons and explosives used by Belgium's gangs are likely funnelled into the country from nearby war zones, including Ukraine.
"Their origins are multiple and some come from the conflict in Ukraine, the import of which is facilitated by corruption. You can get a grenade for €50."
Claise oversaw the Qatargate corruption case at the European Parliament from December until mid-June this year, when news broke that his son had previously co-founded a business with the son of Marie Arena: a Belgian MEP who is herself implicated in the scandal (although she has not been formally charged)
The resulting allegations of a conflict of interest led Claise to recuse himself from the investigation.
