A serious incident has been recorded in the Anderlecht neighborhood of Brussels, where the body of an Albanian citizen was found hanging from an electrical cable.
The victim, 29 years old, was found near a shopping mall, in a wooded area, far from his residence.
According to journalist Fatos Mahmutaj, Belgian authorities are investigating three possible leads: involvement in a conflict with people from the criminal world, involvement in drug trafficking, and suicide.
The victim was not known to have a criminal record, which casts doubt on the first lead.
The suicide trail is being taken seriously by investigators, after some of the Albanian's family members received a message from his phone shortly before his body was found, which read: " I'm going to the next world ."
However, the unusual manner in which the body was found, hanging in a public area and with electrical cables, has raised suspicions about a possible murder or execution scenario.
Belgian media have speculated about a Mexican cartel-style execution, due to the similarity to previously documented similar cases, but journalist Mahmutaj has called these comparisons hasty and unfair to the Albanian community in Belgium.
"The suicide trail is strengthened by the message that has reached his acquaintances, which says that he is fleeing to the other world. As for the place where he was found, it was a place with vegetation. He was a person without a criminal background. The parallelism with the Mexican cartels simply burdens the Albanian community, but does not solve anything. Official conclusions are expected very soon. Belgian justice functions efficiently, so we must wait for the investigation to understand the truth. The body was taken by forensic medicine and at the moment there is no official statement," said journalist Mahmutaj, among other things.
Forensic experts and prosecutors have been at the scene, while investigations are ongoing.
Belgian authorities are expected to issue an official conclusion on the cause of death soon.