Break-in at Belgian policeinternal corruption service

7 March 2005

BRUSSELS – Burglars managed to break into the Belgian police’s internal affairs service in Brussels, reported the Belgian press on Monday.

The criminals seem to have had few difficulties getting in to the ‘Comite P’ building since its alarm was out of order and its surveillance cameras hadn’t been working since the middle of last month.

Comite P is the main body responsible for investigating the police force, including handling accusations of corruption.

La Derniere Heure, Het Laatste Nieuws and De Nieuwe Gazet reported that a police officer patrolling in Schaerbeek on Saturday night found a Comite P briefcase containing confidential police documents.

The abandoned briefcase aroused his suspicions and he contacted police from the Brussels commune and Ixelles and Comite P.

They soon found the Comite P building in Rue de la Loi had been burgled by intruders who got in through the Rue du Commerce entrance.

They had broken into the fourth floor of the seventh floor building, rifling through offices and paperwork and finally stealing computers which contain confidential files about police officers.

The team that arrived at the burglary scene found the doors of the fourth floor, which should have been locked and accessible only by a key card, propped open by boxes.

Comite P is still assessing what was stolen during the raid.

Subject: Belgian news