Drunk Belgian police chief sent home from terror meeting
A Belgian police chief was sent home after turning up drunk to an emergency security meeting held directly after the deadly terror attacks in Brussels.
Robert Devillez was set to review emergency security protocols with the local mayor, hours after Brussels airport and metro attacks which claimed the lives of at least 32 people on March 22.
After arriving late and showing problems in communicating, Devillez was asked by his colleagues to take a breathalyzer test, which he failed.
“As soon as his superiors found the problem, they did the necessary and set up a report. And the police chief took disciplinary measurements. But I cannot go any further on this otherwise there will be a procedure mistake and this can go all down the drain,” the Daily Mail quoted the spokesman for the city’s Ixelles district, Christian De Coninck, as saying on Friday.
This is not the first time the district’s police force has been implicated for alcohol abuse as in September 2015 an ISPPW (internal service for prevention and protection at work) report warned of an alcohol problem among police officers in Ixelles.
“They would drink all day at the expense of work and colleagues who want to work. This deteriorates the image of the police,” said the report.
Brussels airport 'symbolic' reopening
Meanwhile, Brussels airport is set to reopen on Sunday, following 12 days of shutdown, which has caused havoc in the city’s tourism sector.
The airports chief executive, Arnaud Feist, told reports that three “symbolic flights” would leave the airport on Sunday.
“This restart, even if it’s only partial, it is a sign of hope,” he said, adding that passengers would be subjected to additional security checks.
Third suspect charged over Paris plot
Also on Saturday, a third suspect was charged by Belgian authorities over links to a foiled attack on French soil.
According to the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, a 33-year-old Belgian national identified only as Y A, joined two others previously charged following the arrest of Frenchman Reda Kriket in Paris s on March 24.
Kriket, 34, was arrested by French police for allegedly plotting an attack in France. He has been linked by authorities in Belgium to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the terrorist attacks of last November in the French capital, according to the Belgian court documents. French police said explosives were found at Kriket's home.
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