Three Dutch people arrested for Antwerp apartment building explosion
Three Dutch men suspected of involvement in an attack in the Merksem district of Antwerp were arrested and remanded into custody over the weekend, according to the Gazet van Antwerpen. An explosive device destroyed the front door of an apartment building on Lambrechtshoekenlaan at about 4 a.m. on Friday. There were no injuries.
Investigators believe the tenant living on the second floor was the target of the attack. He works for a logistics firm, and became known to authorities during cocaine smuggling investigations, a source told the newspaper.
Soon after, police captured the three Dutch suspects, including two 30-year-olds and another aged 24. All three are men.
"The suspects were brought before the investigating magistrate on Saturday, who decided to keep them in custody," said Kato Belmans, a spokesperson for the Antwerp district public prosecutor's office, in an interview with the newspaper.
The investigation is ongoing. The suspects will face another hearing later this week, in which their detention can be extended further.
Rival drug gangs have repeatedly carried out attacks on each other in the Antwerp region recently, noted newswire ANP and Belga. With drug trafficking between Belgian and Dutch gangs becoming more intertwined, several suspects in the Antwerp cases come from the Netherlands.
