In Brussels, drug gangs are becoming increasingly bold, taking over public spaces in broad daylight. Open drug dealing in public squares and lines of customers waiting to pick up their doses have become disturbingly common. The police are overwhelmed, and the dealers appear to have lost any semblance of caution.
In the heart of the city, just outside the gates of a primary school, a marketplace for cocaine and cannabis has taken root. In broad daylight, dealers sit on office chairs, taking calls and serving passing customers. Spotters stand at a distance, keeping watch for any sign of the police. When a patrol car approaches, they sound the alarm loudly.
One would expect an immediate crackdown, but that’s not the case at Bethlehem Square in the Saint-Gilles district. While mothers play with their children on one half of the square, drugs are openly sold under the nearby kiosk. At times, up to thirty dealers and spotters operate there simultaneously, according to observations by local residents.
“By now, we’ve become accustomed to drug dealing happening right here,” says a mother at the square, who prefers to remain anonymous. Her daughter attends the nearby kindergarten. She describes an unspoken agreement between parents and drug gangs:
“The lower part of the square, up to the slide, is for the children. The upper part, with the kiosk, is for the dealers. Most of these dealers are practically children themselves, young teenagers. Yes, it’s bizarre, but we share this square.”
An Escalating Problem
Drug activity at Bethlehem Square is not new. The mayor of Saint-Gilles, Jean Spinette, noted in an interview that since the end of the COVID-19 lockdowns, the area has turned into a “drug sales point of industrial proportions.” In July 2023, a series of police raids around the square uncovered 140 kilograms of drugs and €90,000 in cash.
However, there has been a noticeable change in the past year. “In the past, drug dealing was a shady affair. Today, dealers show no shame and sell openly,” says Sarah Frederickx, spokesperson for the Brussels-South police zone, which includes Saint-Gilles.
This change is not confined to Bethlehem Square. Last month, videos surfaced online showing four drug dealers near the Halle Gate serving a queue of about thirty customers.
drug dealers near the Halle Gate serving a queue of “customers”
The Shift in Drug Dealing Tactics
The cause of this shift? Unlike before, drug gangs are no longer using “real” gang members for sales. Instead, they recruit local youths or migrants without residence documents, individuals for whom a few hundred euros a day is a significant sum.
Frederickx explains, “The gangs do not protect these ‘disposable workers.’ They don’t care if they get arrested. Every time this happens, new dealers are ready to take their place within a few hours. It’s a never-ending carousel.”
The Symbolic Chair and a Dangerous Territory
Even though there are informal agreements between residents and drug gangs around Bethlehem Square, the situation remains dangerous. In February, just 400 meters away at Jacques Franck Square, a person was killed in a shooting. Two drug gangs were fighting over a piece of territory, which was marked by a chair, a symbol of control over the area.
“We remove any chair we see in our zone,” Frederickx says. “Symbolically, it’s very important. But we do much more. Just a week ago, we arrested fourteen dealers at Bethlehem Square, two of whom were brought before the magistrate. As a police force, we will continue to act repressively. For a structural improvement, other services also need to join in, such as community organisations, prevention services, and the Immigration Office.”
Police Action and Persistent Issues
When two police cars suddenly pull up at the kiosk on Bethlehem Square, the dealers scatter. After half an hour of patrolling under the kiosk, the police leave, taking the office chair with them. There are no arrests this time. Less than five minutes later, the dealers are back, and customers are already stopping by.
This open display of drug dealing is a worrying sign of how deeply the problem has entrenched itself in the city’s public spaces. Despite police efforts, the dealers return, suggesting that a more comprehensive and coordinated approach is required to tackle this growing issue effectively.
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