Belgian justice minister in hiding after kidnap plot arrests

Police set up a large security perimeter close to Vincent Van Quickenborne’s home

Police cordon off an area during the kidnapping plot investigation in Kortrijk, Belgium. VTM/AP

Belgium’s Justice Minister, Vincent Van Quickenborne, was under police protection on Monday after an alleged kidnapping plot was uncovered and four people were arrested.

Mr Van Quickenborne said on social media that he was “safe and in good hands” but would have to miss some activities in the coming days.

The four suspects arrested in the Netherlands are said to be part of a plot organised by criminals in the drugs underworld.

In a video message, Mr Van Quickenborne said he was told by Belgium’s federal prosecutor that he was the target of a kidnapping plot and that the suspects would soon be extradited to Belgium.

The minister mentioned the “drugs mafia".

Police set up a large security perimeter close to Mr Van Quickenborne’s home in Kortrijk, where he is also the mayor.

Members of Belgium’s bomb disposal unit were sent after a parcel was delivered to his house.

“Let me be clear: the people behind this are achieving the opposite of what they aim for. It strengthens me in the belief that we need to keep fighting,” Mr Van Quickenborne said.

“The criminals feel trapped. That feeling is right. Because we will continue to fight organised crime, with more manpower and resources than before."

Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo said the threat against Mr Van Quickenborne was “purely unacceptable".

Prosecutors, who called the security operation around the minister precautionary, also said they found an automatic weapon and a bottle of petrol in a vehicle in Kortrijk.

There are thousands of containers on ships reaching Antwerp every day. The port city is one of Europe’s main entry spots for cocaine.

Over the past two years, Belgian police have made several dozen arrests during operations of unprecedented scale.

More than 214 tonnes of cocaine was seized in Europe in 2020, a 6 per cent increase from the previous year.

Experts from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction believe that amount could reach 300 tonnes in 2022.

The expansion of the cocaine market also saw a rise in violence and corruption in the EU, with fierce competition between traffickers leading to a rise in homicides and intimidation.