Belgium at risk of turning into a ‘narco state’, judge warns
‘Extensive mafia structures have taken hold’ in country, says judge who spent 4 months in a safe house
Belgium is at risk of turning into a “narco-state” as organised crime has infiltrated ports, the police and even the judiciary, according to a judge who spent four months in a safe house.
“What’s happening today in our jurisdiction and beyond is no longer a classic crime issue. We’re facing an organised threat that undermines our institutions,” the investigating judge at a court in Antwerp wrote in an open letter published on the court’s website on Monday.
“Extensive mafia structures have taken hold, becoming a parallel force that challenges not only the police, but also the judiciary,” wrote the judge, who chose to remain anonymous due to threats to their life.
Antwerp is one of the flashpoints of drug trafficking into Belgium and wider Europe, as its port is the second largest of the continent and a key entry point for cocaine.
An investigation based on decrypted messages between drug smugglers and other criminals revealed “a parallel economy” in the port of Antwerp as well as large-scale money laundering operations, they wrote.
“The consequences are serious: are we evolving into a narco-state? . . . According to our drug commissioner, this evolution has begun. My colleagues and I share this sentiment,” wrote the judge.
“A narco-state is characterised by an illegal economy, corruption and violence” — all three of which were already present in Belgium, they said.
The judge, one of 17 investigating judges in Antwerp who can authorise wiretaps and other evidence-gathering methods for the prosecution, said that “bribery is permeating our institutions from the ground up”, with probes leading to arrests of port employees, customs officials, police officers and people working for the judiciary.
Moving a container in the port could earn as much as €100,000, they wrote, and moving a bag €50,000 or more.
Violence had become part of the organised crime’s business model, “ranging from murder, torture, and kidnapping to threats and attacks, sometimes targeting innocent civilians, to maintain their power and eliminate rivals”, the judge said.
They also referenced the killing of an 11-year-old girl in 2023, the niece of two notorious drug traffickers who died during a shooting.
The judge urged the government to take measures to allow the judiciary to continue working safely, including allowing judges to work anonymously, insurance for damages to magistrates and their families, and blocking the use of mobile phones in prisons.
“Despite all the efforts of the police and the judiciary, we are no longer able to protect our citizens and ourselves,” the judge wrote. “If the judiciary begins to malfunction, it is a dangerous attack on our democracy.”
Belgian justice minister Annelies Verlinden was sympathetic to the judge’s complaints. “The signals we are receiving regarding threats against magistrates and prison staff are serious and worrying. These people are on the front lines of our rule of law every day. The fact that they are the target of criminal networks, even from inside prisons, is unacceptable,” she said in a statement.
Verlinden said she was working on a strategy to reinforce security inside the judiciary. “It is also for this reason that I have asked for more human and financial resources to invest in the judiciary,” she added.