Illegal firearms are increasingly circulating in the Belgian capital, Sudinfo reports. Since the start of the year, Brussels authorities registered 96 offences relating to illegal weapons.
At the end of last year, Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, Rudi Vervoort, warned that the number of cases relating to the circulation of illegal firearms was rising. Belgium has long been an important part of Europe’s illegal weapon trade. Weapons used by terrorists are often acquired illegally in Belgium.
The issue of illegal firearms in Brussels was once particularly severe. In 2015, the government launched a Federal action plan, dubbed the Kanaalplan, to rid the Brussels Canal area of illegal weapons, especially within the context of anti-terrorism after the November 2016 attacks in Paris.
At one point, there were believed to be as many as 1.1 million illegal firearms circulating in Belgium, according to federal estimates.
Deadly weapons
In the first three months of this year, the most illegal firearm offences were reported in the Brussels Capital/Ixelles police zone, with 31 offences. 16 offences were recorded in both the Brussels West and Brussels South zones. Another 14 were recorded by the Montgomery police zone, 10 in the Marlow zone, and 8 in the North zone.
In January alone, 36 cases involving the possession of an illegal firearm were handled by Brussels police zones and by Brussels railway police officers. In February, 26 reports were handled, and 33 in March.
Eleven complaints related to the municipality of Anderlecht and 9 to Molenbeek. Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Uccle recorded 8 and 7 complaints, respectively. Only one Brussels municipality, Watermael-Boitsfort, did not experience any case related to illegal firearms.
Of the criminal complaints, most related to the illegal position of firearms or ammunition. Other cases relate to the carrying of bladed weapons, explosives, or the trade of illegal weapons. In Brussels, only 10 individuals are licensed to legally carry a weapon on their person.
Related News
In 2020, police in the capital recorded 345 offences relating to illegal weapons, with 53 people having been caught carrying or transporting illegal weapons. In the first quarter of this year, 9 cases have been recorded.
In 2018, federal authorities offered a nine-month amnesty period to hand in illegal weapons, so that they could be destroyed. As a result, the government recovered 12,000 weapons nationally, including 5,000 in Brussels.
