In an investigation by the federal prosecutor's office, the Liège federal police has arrested eight people suspected of international drug trafficking.

EDITORIALJune 5, 2023 , 12:02

During eleven house searches in Ixelles, Liège, Ans, Grâce-Hollogne and Antwerp, the police also seized a handgun, five kilograms of cocaine and 30,000 euros in cash. This is reported by the federal prosecutor's office. A suspect was also arrested in Germany. The Belgian court asks that it be handed over to our country.

The file, led by a Liège investigating judge, is part of an investigation that began several years ago, with apparent links to the Italian mafia 'Ndrangheta', according to the federal prosecutor's office. In 2015, the Guardia di Finanza launched Operation Gentleman in Catanzaro, which led to the arrest of 33 members of a mafia clan. “The Italian investigation revealed an extensive drug trade, including cocaine, from South America. The head of the clan could be arrested in Frankfurt after three years on the run.”

In those three years, that man would have built a new logistics base in Germany to organize the drug trade from Belgium to southern Italy. The Belgian court was told in November 2020 that a number of suspects would be in the Liège region, after which an investigation was also opened here.

“This investigation was carried out by the FGP Liège and has revealed the possible existence in Belgium of extraction cells, cells in charge of taking goods that are, for example, clandestinely transported to a port,” the federal prosecutor continues. “These cells were active in Odessa in Ukraine, Spain, Sweden and Norway, but also in Belgium and the Netherlands. After the hack of the encrypted SKY ECC network, the police were able to retrieve a lot of information about the criminal organization.”