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Belgian police detain three men who occupied Ghent apartment Belgian police detain three men who occupied Ghent apartment
(about 3 hours later)
Belgian police have detained three men who occupied an apartment building in the western city of Ghent. Belgian police detained three men after reports of a hostage-taking in an apartment building in the western city of Ghent on Monday. No one was injured in the incident.
There were reports that the men took a hostage, who was later released unharmed. Federal police spokeswoman Annemie Serlippens excluded any political or terror motive.
The incident was not an act of terror, federal police spokeswoman Annemie Serlippens said. “There appears to be nothing political,” she said. “We are sure that it has nothing to do with terrorism,” Serlippens said. “We think it might be drug related.”
Four armed men were reported to have entered the apartment block early on Monday in the Dampoort district, prompting police to set up a big security operation to keep bystanders away. Authorities reacted early on Monday to a report that several armed men had entered the apartment block in the working-class neighbourhood. Immediately, police set up a big security operation to keep bystanders away.
After several hours, at least two men left the building with their hands up. When heavily armed police officials moved into the building, they found the alleged victim in his apartment unharmed. It wasn’t clear if he had been attacked or held hostage. No more details were immediately available.
It was unclear how the third man came out or whether police were still looking for more suspects. Local media reported a previous hostage incident in Ghent two months ago that was linked to extortion.