Belgium at Risk of Evolving into a Narco-State, Senior Judicial Figures Warn
International drug crime poses a severe danger to social stability in Belgium, according to senior judicial officials, who have echoed warnings that the country is turning into a "narco-state" where mafia groups operate as a parallel force. Bart Willocx, president of the Antwerp court of appeal, highlighted Belgium's vulnerability due to drug smuggling through Antwerp's vast port, a key entry point for cocaine into Europe.
"The amount of money involved—to influence, corrupt, and bribe people—is so immense that it genuinely threatens the stability of our society," Willocx told the Guardian in an interview at his court. He acknowledged that Belgium is working to avoid this fate but described it as an ongoing evolution and a significant pressure.
Anonymous Judge's Alarming Open Letter
In October last year, the Antwerp court published an open letter from an anonymous investigative judge, who cautioned that Belgium was evolving into a narco-state. The judge wrote that extensive mafia structures had taken root, "becoming a parallel force that challenges not only the police but the judiciary." Guido Vermeiren, prosecutor general for the Antwerp and Limburg regions, agreed with this assessment, stating, "We are becoming a state with a lot of corruption, with a lot of threats."
Scale of the Drug Trafficking Problem
According to Europol, over 70% of cocaine entering Europe in 2024 came through Antwerp and Rotterdam, though criminals are increasingly using smaller ports. Belgium's issue stems from surging drug amounts from South America, primarily Colombia. A record 121 tonnes of cocaine was seized in Belgium in 2023, fueling violent crime, though seizures dropped to 44 tonnes in 2024, possibly due to better concealment methods and shifts to smaller ports.
Organised drug gangs have been linked to a plot to kidnap a Belgian interior minister in 2022 and a spate of shootings in Brussels in 2025. The pervasive criminality has spawned violence, shootings, kidnappings, torture, and money laundering. "We really have a problem and we should make more investments in staff and in other resources to cope with it," Willocx emphasised.
Corruption and Intimidation Tactics
Vermeiren detailed how criminals paid over €250,000 to a port worker to move a single container, with employees facing threats and bombings if they refused. "They received letters, photos of their children. There were attacks at their homes with homemade explosives," he said. Children as young as 13 are paid small sums to steal cocaine from the port, with gangs grooming young people for jobs and then pressuring them into compliance.
In March 2024, police foiled an attempt by four armed men to steal more than 1,500 tonnes of impounded cocaine from a customs warehouse. Police and hospital employees have been bribed or intimidated to provide confidential information, such as home addresses of judges. Belgian judges increasingly live in safe houses, with Vermeiren noting multiple people under permanent protection; the anonymous judge spent four months in a safe house.
Justice System Under Strain
Judges at the Antwerp court of appeal are still waiting for promised security scanners after two years, leaving court officials nervous when defendants arrive with large bags. Both Willocx and Vermeiren agreed that pressure could lead judges to avoid convictions through procedural errors. "There is too much pressure on prosecutors or judges. If we continue like this, many judges will avoid criminal affairs due to safety concerns," Willocx warned.
The anonymous letter was part of the Five to Twelve campaign by Antwerp courts and prosecutors, warning of a doomsday scenario for Belgium's justice system. Judges have proposed 100 reforms, including safer courts, tackling prison overcrowding, and better salaries. However, Vermeiren criticised the government, led by Flemish Conservative Bart De Wever, for recognising the problem but failing to act adequately.
Decades of Underfunding and a Vicious Circle
Judges say Belgian courts are at breaking point after decades of underfunding. Despite a pledge from the justice ministry last November to spend an extra €1 billion by 2029, doubts about resources persist. Willocx described a vicious circle where underfunding leads to poor performance, justifying further cuts.
The scale of organised trafficking was exposed when authorities cracked the encrypted Sky ECC messaging network, used by criminals to organise smuggling, money drops, and murders. Since the first arrests in March 2021, Belgian authorities have convicted 1,206 people, mostly for drug crimes, violence, corruption, and weapons possession, with nearly 5,000 suspects identified. "It was even worse than we thought," Vermeiren said, noting the network's reach from Dubai to South America.
