• French gangs from Marseille sought to fill a gap left by the arrests of Albanian mafia members.
• Belgium’s federal police conducted a large-scale operation in February 2022, arresting about 30 people.
• Recent shootings have injured passers-by in Brussels’ shopping and residential districts.

Officials said on Friday that Belgium, a center for international drug trafficking and the heart of EU politics, hosts more than 100 of Europe’s most dangerous criminal networks, as street shootings rise in the capital.

Belgian Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt stated that drug gangs were behind this year’s rise in street shootings in Brussels, with six recorded in March alone. He mentioned that gangs from the French coastal town of Marseille were seeking to fill a vacuum left in Brussels after the arrests of Albanian mafia members.

Belgian media reported that the country’s federal police conducted a large-scale operation in February 2022, resulting in the arrest of about 30 people. Belgium, with a major port in Antwerp, is an important drug hub.

Local media have reported shootings in recent months that have injured passers-by in shopping and residential districts of Brussels that were not previously associated with such crimes. The federal police declined to comment on street shooting statistics.

Van Tigchelt and Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden addressed a news conference as EU police agency Europol announced that it had identified the 821 most dangerous criminal networks in the bloc, along with their 25,000 members, to aid cross-border investigations. Europol head Catherine De Bolle disclosed that half of the groups involved in drug trafficking, while 86 percent of them utilized legal businesses to launder money.

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