Four people were arrested over the weekend for allegedly plotting to kidnap the Belgian justice minister, Vincent Van Quickenborne.
Three suspects aged 20, 29 and 48 were arrested in the Netherlands on Friday night, while the fourth suspect, a 21-year-old Dutch national, was picked up from the Hague on Saturday afternoon.
The arrests, made at the Belgian government's request, came after a car with a Dutch number plate containing Kalashnikov rifles and other firearms was found close to the minister's house in Kortrijk in western Flanders.
Mr Van Quickenborne has been placed under tight security surveillance, federal prosecutors said on Saturday, citing a "serious threat".
The prosecutors said they were "informed last week of a possible threat" to the minister’s safety, which they have taken very "seriously".
The minister blamed the “drug mafia” in a video message run by state broadcaster RTBF after a federal prosecutor warned him of a possible kidnapping plan.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Mr Van Quickenborne announced that he will be placed under "strict security for the time being" and will not be able to participate in planned activities for the next few days.
He wrote: "Let me be clear: the people behind this are achieving the opposite of what they aim for. It strengthens me in the belief that we need to keep fighting.
"The criminals feel trapped. That feeling is right. Because we will continue to fight organised crime, with more manpower and resources than before."
“In our democratic rule of law, we will never fold to violence. Never.”
Over the past two years, Belgian police have been cracking down on drug traffickers and have made several dozen arrests during operations of unprecedented scale.
With thousands of containers reaching Antwerp every day, the port city is one of Europe’s entry points for cocaine, making Belgium one of the major trafficking hubs. More than 214 tons of cocaine were seized in Europe in 2020, a 6 per cent increase from the previous year.
Belgian authorities have requested their Dutch counterpart to extradite the four suspects.
Dutch law minister Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius in a tweet said: "We stand side by side for security in our countries. We will never bow."
Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo said the treats to Mr Van Quickenborne were “totally unacceptable”.
"But it must be clear: we will not be intimidated by anyone. The work continues," he added.
