More than 550 police officers and soldiers fanned out across Brussels neighbourhoods on Friday in the largest security operation yet against the drug trafficking driving a wave of shootings in the capital.
The operation included 70 military personnel, marking the first time soldiers have taken part in this kind of drug enforcement sweep in the city. Officers carried out checks across multiple districts and detained eight people, most of them for carrying drug quantities well beyond what would be considered for personal use.
A single commander over six police zones
Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said the streets and metro stations of Brussels belong to its residents, and that the state was putting its full weight behind the operation so people can feel safe again. He described the situation as a national emergency requiring a collective response, though the government has stopped short of declaring any formal state of emergency.
The deployment follows the appointment of Michel Goovaerts, police chief of the Brussels Capital Elsene district, as a so called Gold Commander tasked with coordinating the response across all six of the region's police zones, an unusual step meant to close gaps between forces that normally operate separately. Quintin pointed to a recent attack on a police station as evidence of how far the violence has escalated, saying the use of military grade weapons on the streets meant every available resource had to be brought to bear.
Alongside the stepped up patrols, authorities plan a heavier police presence in high crime neighbourhoods during evening and night hours, backed by K9 units and specialised tactical teams operating under the new centralised command. Residents of Saint-Gilles, one of the areas hit hardest by the violence, have organised their own rally for Sunday at Place de Bethleem, a well known drug distribution point close to several recent shooting sites.