Eight people in Belgium were arrested in dawn raids on Tuesday in connection with a suspected plot to assassinate the Brussels chief prosecutor, according to authorities. The arrests were made after searches of 18 homes in Brussels and the nearby city of Leuven, the Belgian state prosecutor's department said. The raids were the culmination of a four-month investigation into intelligence regarding a plot to kill the Brussels public prosecutor, Julien Moinil, according to the department. "The main suspects seem to have a criminal record linked to organised drugs trafficking, and may be active within the Albanian criminal mafia," it said in a statement. The suspects are currently being questioned and an investigating judge will decide whether they will remain in custody. "At this stage it is not possible either to confirm or to rule out the plot to attack the public prosecutor," said federal prosecutor Ann Fransen. Fransen also said there was a need for better protection for police officers and magistrates who "fight relentlessly against organised crime every day and thus find themselves in the sights of these organisations." Moinil, who took up the post in January, was put under police protection in July after receiving serious threats from the drug traffickers operating in Brussels. The Belgian capital has been plagued by shootings and violence linked to drug gangs in recent years, with dozens of criminal networks believed to be operating in the city. As of the end of October, 78 shootings had been recorded in 2025. Last year, there were 92 shootings, with nine people killed and 48 injured, according to police data. "Anyone, every Brussels resident and every citizen, can be hit by a stray bullet," he said, urging a coordinated crackdown on gangs. Moinil said that more resources were needed to better combat drug trafficking and related violence, and blamed politicians for not addressing the issue. While the prosecutor's office has been bolstered with additional magistrates, Brussels federal judicial police continue to struggle with a major shortage of staff, he said. In September, Defence Minister Theo Francken announced plans to deploy soldiers on the streets of the Belgian capital to tackle non-terrorism-related crime, notably in counternarcotics operations. — Euronews
