By Nette Noestlinger
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - More than 100 of Europe's most dangerous criminal networks operate in Belgium, a centre for international drug trafficking as well as being the heart of EU politics, officials said on Friday, as street shooting rise in the capital.
Belgian Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt said drug gangs were behind this year's rise in street shootings in Brussels, with six recorded in March alone. Gangs from the French coastal town of Marseille were seeking to fill a vacuum left in Brussels after arrests of Albanian mafia members, he said.
About 30 people were arrested in a large-scale operation by the country's federal police in February 2022, Belgian media reported.
With a major port in Antwerp, Belgium is an important drugs 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 not associated with such crime.
The federal police declined to comment on street shooting statistics.
Van Tigchelt and Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden, spoke at a news conference as EU police agency Europol said it had identified the 821 most dangerous criminal networks in the bloc, and their 25,000 members, to help cross-border investigations.
Half of the groups were involved in drug trafficking, said Europol head Catherine De Bolle, while 86% of them used legal businesses to launder money.
(Reporting by Nette Nöstlinger; Editing by Gabriela Baczynska and Frances Kerry)
