Matonge drugs gang trial begins

A new major drug trial involving almost 50 defendants and the sale of cannabis, cocaine and ecstacy in the Matonge neighbourhood of Ixelles is set to begin in Brussels on Tuesday.

The case involves a large-scale drug gang that has earned more than €6 million over a three-year period, according to the public prosecutor’s office.

Following months of surveillance, officers from the federal judicial police raided 25 locations and arrested 13 suspects across the country on 3 November 2025 as part of an investigation into drug trafficking originating in Matonge.

What began with more than 120 checks and small-scale operations culminated in a judicial investigation into a criminal organisation suspected of trafficking drugs on a large scale from the Matonge and Vendôme arcades. The subsequent investigation ultimately led to the identification of 46 suspects.

“The Matonge neighbourhood has been known for drug trafficking for several years, causing nuisance to residents,” the Brussels public prosecutor’s office stated the day after the police operation.

The key figure in the case is 35-year-old M.B. from Etterbeek, who, according to the public prosecutor’s office, is alleged to have been at the head of the criminal organisation and to have led it in a structured and hierarchical manner between March 2022 and November 2025.

M.B. was already sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment for manslaughter in 2024 after killing a member of a rival gang in a stabbing.

A further 45 suspects are standing trial at the proceedings, which are taking place at the high-security Justitia site in Haren, in the buildings of the former Nato headquarters.

As well as suspected drug dealers, the defendants include those who are suspected of managing storage facilities, supplying drugs or keeeping the accounts.