There was a plan to kidnap the Belgian Minister of Justice, said Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne himself in a video message Saturday night. This is what the federal prosecutor in Belgium would have told him. Three Dutch suspects were arrested by the police.
“I was called by Federal Attorney General Frédéric Van Leeuw on Thursday afternoon,” Van Quickenborne says in the video. “He told me there was a plan to kidnap me.”
“The suspects have been arrested and will be handed over to our country. So good results, thanks to the professional intervention of our security services”.
“It is a threat that has been directed against me as a justice minister and no one else,” said the minister, who is also deputy prime minister, earlier in the day. He also announced that he would not be able to participate in the activities for several days and that he was placed under close surveillance.
Police are still looking for the fourth suspect
Three people were arrested in Leidschendam and The Hague at the request of the Belgian authorities. A fourth suspect is still wanted.
Belgian police had followed the suspects from Van Quickenborne’s home to the Dutch border. The Dutch had left a car at the minister’s house. According to Belgian media, an automatic rifle and bottles of petrol were found inside.
VRT already reported on Saturday evening that it could be an attempted kidnapping. Drug criminals want to trade Van Quickenborne for an inmate. According to the police, VRT keep in mind that principals are “drug lords abroad”.
Van Quickenborne also makes the connection with crime. “Let me be clear: the people behind this are getting the opposite of what they intended. It reinforces my belief that we have to keep fighting. Criminals feel cornered. This feeling is justified. Because we will continue to fight organized crime, with more manpower and resources than before “.
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