Brussels public prosecutor Julien Moinil has been given increased security protection following threats from Brussels drug criminals. The threat is considered ‘serious and real’.
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Brussels prosecutor Julien Moinil gets surveillance after "serious and real" threats from drug criminals
Colin Clapson
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Julien Moinil has now been in the job for six months and has been putting firm pressure on drug traffickers. Only a month ago, a major operation was staged in the Peterbos neighbourhood of Anderlecht - one of the main hotspots for drug trafficking in the capital. During a press conference at that time, Moinil stressed that ‘this was just the beginning’. He has drafted a plan to tackle drug problems in the capital.
But drug gangs are not impressed. According to Francophone broadcaster RTBF, Moinil is under threat from drug criminals, and that threat is considered ‘serious and real’. That is why his security has been drastically increased. He is permanently surrounded by bodyguards and when he moves, he is escorted by police officers.
The Brussels public prosecutor's office would not comment on the reports. Normally, it is the National Crisis Centre that launches such measures, following analyses by the federal police and threat analysis body OCAD. No details are ever given about the measures taken. The federal police do not give details either: ‘For security reasons, we do not communicate about individual cases,’ the RTBF was told.
Not the first time
It is also not the first time Moinil has been threatened as well as given protection. Before his job as public prosecutor in Brussels, he worked at the federal public prosecutor's office fighting organised crime. There too, he was placed under protection at least twice.
Once in connection with a case of large-scale fraud involving car sales. The gang behind it allegedly wanted revenge and called in a hitman. A year later, it happened again, this time as part of the big dossier involving police hacking of encrypted phones used by organised criminals. According to daily Le Soir, there were plans within the Albanian mafia to kill him and a €1 million contract was on the table.
No unique case
In 2024, 101 people were given special protection because they were threatened while doing their jobs, the Crisis Centre notes on its website. These include politicians, police officers, magistrates, judges, etc.
Specific measures taken may be visible or invisible, preventive or reactive. ‘They can range from counselling, a fixed contact person in the police, priority treatment at emergency centres, patrols of homes or work venues and the permanent presence of the police services. In exceptional cases, measures may also involve close protection or a safe house.
Late last year, for example, an Antwerp investigating judge had to go into hiding in a safehouse for weeks after threats from drug traffickers.
‘This type of measure has a particularly strong impact on the person in question and is therefore only taken in cases when there is a major and very concrete threat,’ the Crisis Centre says on its website.