A completely unusual find in a minister's office. After a search in December, Belgian authorities discovered no fewer than 50 bags of cocaine in the office of Education Minister Caroline Désir, reveals La Derniere Heure.
According to information from the Belgian media, a member of the minister's cabinet was arrested before this home visit. Around 10,000 euros were also found on this man, Mekki Van Haelen, who acted as head of commissioner in the minister's cabinet. The information has been kept secret until now.
The drug therefore did not belong to Caroline Désir, but to this man and was therefore obviously not intended for her own consumption, but for the cocaine trade. A warrant has since been issued for his arrest and he is being held in custody at Haren Prison. The DH reveals that this man is none other than the son of a well-known socialist figure in the country: Fadila Laanan, former Minister of Culture and current Brussels MP.
Fired on the spot
“On Wednesday evening, December 15, we were informed that Mr. Van Haelen, who held the position of treasurer of the company, was arrested as part of a drug trafficking investigation. “On Thursday, December 16, a dismissal procedure for breach of trust was carried out in accordance with the regulations applicable to ministerial positions,” explained Jean-François Mathieu, spokesman for Caroline Désir’s office.
Following this incident, the minister and her chief of staff decided to proceed with the immediate dismissal of Mekki Van Haelen, as explained by Caroline Désir in a series of messages published this Thursday on the social network X.
(1/6) On Wednesday evening, December 15, I was informed that an assistant in charge of equipment and logistics in the office was arrested as part of a drug trafficking investigation. Drug.
– CarolineDesir (@CarolineDesir) January 25, 2024
In the rest of the news, the minister, who has nothing to do with this story, even states that she contributed to the outbreak of this alleged drug trade. “By mutual agreement with [les enquêteurs], the chief of staff opened the doors of the collaborator's office and all premises to which he had access as of Friday, December 17, and concluded that investigators “had found nothing else and did not want to hear from any other member of the staff “. Cabinet since then. »