Starting Monday, 24 people will stand trial before the Brussels Criminal Court for various drug-related offences, mainly involving the sale of cocaine and cannabis on the street in the Clemenceau area in Anderlecht.
The trial will take place from 7 to 11 April in the Justitia courthouse in Haren, the former NATO headquarters.
The defendants are mostly street dealers. They form the last and most visible link in extensive organised drug networks and have a strong hierarchical structure. Drug dealing on the street is often the work of disadvantaged young people who want to earn money fast.
Competition between these street dealers has increased in recent years and the battle for territory sometimes leads to violence. Earlier this year, a string of shootings around the Clemenceau area in Anderlecht were associated with drug crimes.
Brussels Public Prosecutor Julien Moinil has drawn up an anti-drugs plan. Together with the mayors of the municipalities of Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles and Forest, he is calling on the Federal Government to strengthen the Federal Judicial Police and the justice system.
