World

Brussels intensifies fight against drug trafficking with new commander and police boost

The city of Brussels has appointed a 'Gold' Commander and increased police presence by 50 officers to combat drug-related violence.

28 August 2026Tagblick Newsdesk

AI-generatedWritten by an AI system, editorially responsible — how we work

Archive photo: Brussels intensifies fight against drug trafficking with new commander and police boost — Archive photoPhoto: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

In Brussels, a decision has been made to strengthen the fight against drug trafficking with the appointment of a 'Gold' Commander to oversee the city's six police zones. Michel Goovaerts, the police commander of the Brussels-Capital Ixelles area, will take on this role.

The Minister of the Interior, Bernard Quintin, announced the addition of 40 police officers to support operations aimed at combating the rising violence related to drug trafficking.

In addition to the increase in police personnel, the city carried out a large-scale operation over the past weekend known as 'FIPA' (Fully Integrated Police Action).

This operation mobilized around 550 police officers in various areas of Brussels, such as Clémenceau, Yser, and Rogier, where multiple controls and some arrests were made.

The situation in Brussels has also led to the presence of armed forces on the streets, a move implemented to try to regain control of areas dominated by traffickers, highlighting an alarming number of 65 shootings recorded in 2026, matching the total from the previous year.

Various government authorities have expressed support for these initiatives, recognizing the urgent need for measures to confront the growing insecurity caused by criminal activities.

This item was written by an AI system on the basis of the headlines and short teasers of the independently operating newsrooms named below. We disclose this under Art. 50(4), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act). Before publication we check origin and verifiability — anything that appears in only one place is not published — as well as language, substance and legally sensitive content. No separate substantive review of each individual item by a natural person takes place; we therefore do not rely on the exemption in Art. 50(4), second subparagraph, of the AI Act. Editorial responsibility for this publication rests with the person named in the imprint (§ 18 Abs. 2 MStV). Please report errors to [email protected] — we will correct or remove the item. Full reports are available from the sources listed.