Israeli brothers suspected of murdering compatriot in Belgium over drugs

JTA — Belgian police arrested two Israeli brothers on Thursday on suspicion of the murder of another Israeli man whose bullet-riddled body was found in a river.

The arrests in what police said was a drug-related crime followed the discovery of the body on March 15 at the Kattendijk dock inside the Antwerp port, in the city’s north.

The body was dumped there inside a bag along with heavy objects that police believe were meant to keep the body submerged, the Gaezet van Antwepren news outlet reported Monday.

The 21-year-old victim was not a resident of Antwerp, Belgian authorities said. The report did not name the victim nor the suspects, both in their 20s, who were living in Antwerp when the crime was committed.

“The identification [of the body] sped up the research,” Kristof Aerts, the Antwerp police spokesman, told the Gazet, adding that the arrests were made possible thanks to “extra information from Israeli authorities.”

Aerts also said police believe the crime was related to “score settling in the drug world.”