Unlike the Moroccans, Albanians, Assyrians...the Irish never really had a stake in local distribution in Antwerp, but - like a ton of other criminal organizations - Irish groups have definitely used the port of Antwerp to bring in huge amount of cocaine. Kinahan used to have quite a few money laundering points in Antwerp and it wouldn't surprise me if he (and maybe others) still does. There are Irish bars in Antwerp that change owners more frequently than many people change socks.

Hey TKJ why didn't you mention this? I always like a good bank job !

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-05/belgian-burglars-stage-heist-through-antwerp-sewers/10779602

Lol yeah it was all over the news a few weeks ago. They arrested three Georgians thus far.

Thanks, the Georgian thieves-in-law seem to have spread out through Europe. Germany, France, Greece, Spain, Italy. They can travel visa-free to the EU’s Schengen zone.

An arrest team of the Antwerp police has arrested last week Eleftherios P. (77) because he is suspected of being involved in a weed plantation, reports the Antwerp Gazet. The “Ancient Greek” used to play a role in police files about cocaine smuggling.

Two of his sons were also arrested. P. is, according to the Gazet, seriously ill.

Eleftherios P. was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2014 for his involvement in the import of large quantities of cocaine through the port of Antwerp. At the time, P. was involved in the removal of cocaine from containers. His headquarters at that time were Bananas café on the edge of the Schipperskwartier.

Eleftherios...that man just doesn't know how to quit. Hardcore gangster through and through and an almost legendary character in the Antwerp underworld. I've heard rumors that his criminal organization is actually ran from Greece. When they were on top there were always new off-the-boat Greeks showing up at his café "Bananas".

Belgian cop wishes he could shoot traveller. Don't we all.

Has nothing to do with Belgian organized crime?

B

Belgian cop + Traveller criminals + footage taken in Belgium. Where else do you suggest I put it? Irish travellers are a heavy criminal presence in Belgium and Netherlands. So relax, you'll live longer, Strax.

Wouldn't call them a heavy criminal presence in Belgium and the Netherlands these days. A few years ago Irish Travellers did show up in Belgium getting involved mainly in their trademark roofing scams. Not so much nowadays. Irish Travellers still show up whenever there's a major horse event going on though, but they aren't really a major bother there as far as I know.

Slovak and, to a lesser extent, Romanian and Bulgarian Roma gypsies are a bigger pain in the ass over here. Squatting, pickpocketing, petty drug dealing...
You're far more likely to experience nuisance from the Slovak Roma than from an Irish Traveller, a Dutch "woonwagenbewoner" (who are mostly pretty much alright in my experience) or even a Roma gypsy from former Yugoslavia.

Irish Travellers terrorized Dutch ´campings´ in 2017 in Brabant, Gelderland and Drenthe.

With the help of the mayors and the police, the public prosecutor's office in Limburg wants to ban the 'colors' of motorcycle clubs at events. "They are provocative and can disrupt public order," it sounds. But for motorcycle clubs, the embroidered license plates on the back of their leather jackets are sacred. "They have to keep going," says a prominent member of a notorious motorcycle club. "This is contrary to the Constitution," says a lawyer.
After various motorcycle clubs, such as the Hells Angels, are banned in the Netherlands, the Belgian court also seems to want to get rid of the so-called one-percenters.

A most wanted man: Moroccan-Belgian drug boss Rachid Bouazza http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profil...oroccan-belgian-drug-boss-rachid-bouazza

How is the Belgian faction of the Cuntrera-Caruana family doing with the turmoil going on in Canada?
There have been several murders in the last few years mostly Belgian-Sicilians and Sicilian immigrants originally from CC turf in Agrigento.

Nowadays Brazil seems to be the main source of cocaine ending up in Antwerp.

https://ticotimes.net/2019/10/03/cocaine-from-brazil-costa-rica-on-the-rise-in-europe

Many ports in Brazil and Paraguay seem to be controlled by the Primeiro Comando da Capital, arguably the most powerful organized crime group in Brazil.

Colombia (from 50% to 13% in one year) itself is now less used as a source, but the major ports in Ecuador and Costa Rica (two other cocaine transporting hubs on the rise) seem to be controlled by Colombian groups. Due to heavy law enforcement actions Colombian OCG's have shifted much of their base of operation in the international cocaine trafficking from Colombia itself to neighboring countries. Clan del Golfo (formerly known as the Urabeños or Usuga clan) are still the top players in this.

Looks like criminal groups active in the Antwerp cocaine trade still conduct most of their business with Colombian and Brazilian OCG's.
Mexican groups largely focus on North America and seem less likely to be a partner of European groups. Same case for organized crime groups based in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico and El Salvador.

The Antwerp kingpin Gabriël C., nicknamed "The man with long fingers", simulated his own death. The recent wave of attacks in Antwerp drug scene seems to be primarily directed against the disappeared gangster.

The DR def have connections to Europe, several Dutch and Antilleans have been killed over there the latest victim two weeks ago.

A man with Dutch nationality was murdered in the Dominican Republic last Thursday. Dominican media give its identity as Elvio "Evy" or "Bobby" Hato (52) from Curaçao. He was found on a farm in Villa Altagracia.

Hato was wanted by the authorities in Curaçao for cocaine trafficking. Two suspects are detained in the investigation into the murder in the DR: Juan Bernardo Féliz Mercedes (32) and Eduardo Luis García Méndez (30). The motive for the murder was possibly a robbery.

Hato traveled to the DR in 2013 and went into hiding there. He was then a suspect in an investigation into cocaine smuggling via the container port on Curaçao in which a group of suspects were arrested in January 2013.

Four suspects arrested in investigation into Belgian helicopter hijacking
Police have made four arrests in the investigation into the hijacking of a helicopter in Deurne, Belgium, last Friday. The Antwerp prosecutor's office confirms this to VRT NWS on Sunday . The perpetrators may have wanted to use the hijacked helicopter in an escape attempt from a Brussels prison, but failed.

It is still unclear who exactly was arrested and what their role is in the hijacking, writes the news medium.

The helicopter was hijacked by three armed men. The three had booked the helicopter some time ago with a rental company. When booking, the men indicated that they wanted a large helicopter, suitable for six people and a pilot with a lot of experience.

Once in the air, the men threatened the pilot and forced her to fly to the prison south of Brussels. The plane circled above the prison for some time, but flew away when a police helicopter appeared. The helicopter landed in a parking lot in Heilissem, where the perpetrators fled.

Whether the hijackers tried to free someone from prison is still unknown.

Two weeks ago international police op; seven people - four in Favara and three in Belgium - were arrested. The operation was called "Mosaic" and shed light on the feud that bloodied the streets of Favara and Liège from 2015 to 2018 , with five murders and as many attempted murders, some of which never reported.

According to what emerged, for the management of drug trafficking, there were two opposing groups operating between Favara and Belgium.

The opinion Mexicans are less involved in Europe also has become out-dated. In the past yes but not anymore!

Belgian former police chief (77) arrested for large-scale cocaine trafficking

Belgian police forces arrested a former gendarmerie chief and one of the members of the infamous Aquino family during searches in several locations as part of an investigation into large-scale cocaine trafficking.

https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/...ted-for-large-scale-cocaine-trafficking/

Recently there have been some busts in Liege because of two feuding Sicilian mafia clans from Agrigento. Liege and Hainut both have a pretty big Sicilian mafia activity: the Limburg province has less of a Sicilian mafia presence but a much bigger Ndrangheta presence.

Homegrown organized crime is coincidentally also mainly in the provinces of Limburg and Liege;

In Limburg most of it is based around families born in the former mining communities. I'd say those families tend to be of Italian descent, but they were born in Belgium and they are not directly inducted in a bigger Italian organization. As with the A. family the gang was/is based around a family with Italian heritage, but the third person in the organization is a Belgian guy and plenty of other members of the organization are local Belgians as well. It's not Ndrangheta, but they're definitely involved in large scale international drug trafficking.

In Liege the "Liege mafia" is pretty infamous. They're distinct from the Sicilian mafia that's also active in Liege, but the two definitely cooperate. The "Liege mafia" is - like most criminal organizations called "mafia" these days - not really a mafia, but it's more like a confederation of local career criminals from towns in rural Liege. Nevertheless, they're very serious guys. They're mostly famed for often brutal hold-ups of cash transports as well as other organized robberies where they often made use of specialized weaponry like the FN P90. Aside from this they're also involved in other stuff like car scams and frauds (many of them also have an "official" job as local used car dealers), extortion, money laundering (they own quite a bit of property throughout Liege) and some gambling and drugs (though the drug trafficking doesn't seem to be on a large international scale). In 2004 there was an infamous "underworld clean-up" and about 10 local gangsters from the Liege area were liquidated.

Good stuff TKJ in Vlaanderen are the Dutch influential though Brasschaat and Neerpelt are almost entirely Dutch LOL.

Are you retarded? This is an OC thread. No offense

Who is Andre Hazes? You sound like you have a severe drinking problem Holllander

Edit: You changed it lol..You alright in the head?

Yes, the Campines region has a lot of activity from North Brabant traveller families. I'd say that in places like Pelt, Lommel, Mol, Balen, Turnhout, Merksplas, etc...the drug trade is almost completely controlled by Dutch criminals from Eindhoven, Oss, Tilburg...

Local dealers can be anyone of course - mostly Belgian, Dutch, Turkish or Moroccan guys - but the ones in the upper tier of the drug trade in the Campines are the families from North Brabant.

In the municipalities along the Maas (Maaseik, Dilsen, Maasmechelen...) there's also activity from families from Vinkenslag. Bikers from Heerlen also have quite a bit of activity there as well.
Though I'd say that the ones most in charge of the drug trade of that region of Belgian Limburg are local outfits which are a mix up of Belgium-born Italians and Turks and local Belgians.

The Campines region has always been known for the smuggling routes and it's the heartland of ecstasy production.

The Chocolate Mafia...surely somebody’s said that before...