Around 800 police office are carrying out an operation at the Peterbos social housing estate in the Brussels municipality of Anderlecht. The whole of the estate has been cordoned off. The Peterbos Estate has long been blighted by crime, much of which related to the trade in illegal narcotics.
The Brussel prosecutor’s office says that the opperation got under way at around 9am. 800 officers from various units are taking part. The whole of the estate has been cordoned off. VRT News sources says that officers are carrying out a systematic search of the whole estate.
The operation is part of the fight against drugs. The prosecutor’s office won’t give any further information while the operation is still ongoing.
It would appear that the aim of the operation is to destablise the drug gangs that operate out of Peterbos. One source told us that the operation will continue “for as long as necessary”.
A violent drug gang has been operating out of the Peterbos Estate. The estate features on the list of major drug spots in Brussels.
Anderlecht has been the scene of an increase in drug-related violence in recent months. On 7 February a 54-year-old man was shot dead on the Peterbos Estate. In Anderlecht, "a turf war is being fought between criminal gangs", the Brussels prosecutor said earlier this year.
The Peterbos gang allegedly wants to expand its territory to the whole of Brussels, something that is being met with resistance from other gangs. The various gangs have links to the Albanian mafia, the Mocromafia and/or gang from the French city of Marseille.