8,000 removed from population register after police spot checks

Police in Brussels have carried out spot checks on 95,000 homes in the past year to see who is living there - and have removed 8,000 people from the population register.

The home checks were made as part of the "Canal Plan" which came in the aftermath of the 2015 Paris attacks. It aims to tackle radicalisation and terrorism in nine Brussels municipalities, including Anderlecht, Molenbeek and Schaerbeek.

Police in Anderlecht called at the highest number of homes - almost 25,000 - to check that people on the official register actually lived where they claimed. As well as being an anti-terrorism measure, the checks also aim to clamp down on organised crime and benefit fraud.

The latest figures were published by interior minister Jan Jambon in response to a parliamentary question from N-VA member of parliament Brecht Vermeulen.

Photo: Kurt Desplenter/Belga