“Threat” against the Minister of Justice, three arrests
Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne has been placed under increased police surveillance and three suspects have been arrested in the Netherlands following a “threat” against the official, the federal prosecutor’s office announced on Saturday.
According to the Flemish daily Het Laatste Nieuws“at least” an assault rifle and bottles filled with petrol were discovered inside a vehicle registered in the Netherlands, spotted near the home of the minister in the suburbs of Kortrijk (north-west) .
A transfer to Belgium requested
The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, which did not want to confirm this information, said in a press release that three people had been arrested overnight from Friday to Saturday in the Netherlands.
They are three men of Dutch nationality, aged 20, 29 and 48, a spokeswoman for the Dutch prosecutor’s office in The Hague told AFP. Their transfer to Belgium has been requested.
Reinforced police surveillance
“My family and I are safe. Our fight against organized crime continues. With more manpower and resources than ever. We will never pinch ourselves with violence, ”reacted Mr. Van Quickenborne on Twitter.
The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office specifies that it “was informed during the last week of a possible threat” to the Minister of Justice. An investigation, assigned to an investigating judge, “quickly indicated that this threat should be taken seriously”, he adds.
The minister has been placed under enhanced police surveillance, and will not take part in certain activities carried out in the “coming days”. The prosecution declined to provide any further details of the investigation.