Unknown persons set fire last night at Poke Bowl Place eatery, one of the businesses of the attack-plagued Ben Saddik family. The perpetrators also left graffiti on the roller shutter: “Thief”.
Poke Bowl Place, the diner founded by one of the younger brothers of the famous kickboxer Jamal Ben Saddik, was also the target of an attack by the drug environment last week. In the night from Thursday to Friday, the facade of the business, on the corner of Stenenbrug and William Woodstraat, was shot at with a war weapon. The police were then able to arrest two suspected perpetrators in nearby Juul Grietenstraat. The suspects were carrying a weapon at the time of their arrest. They will appear before the council chamber in Antwerp on Tuesday morning.
© BFM
The arrests of both suspects have not stopped the principals from continuing their campaign of violence against the Ben Saddik family. The family’s home in Zegepraalstraat was attacked several times with firearms and explosives. In Deurne, a car wash was also shot at that can be linked to the family.
Exert pressure
The series of attacks is said to be the result of a bitter conflict in the drug environment. One or more of kickboxer Jamal Ben Saddik’s brothers are accused of stealing cocaine. The ‘owners’ of those drugs want to see money and try to put pressure on the family with attacks.
Jamal Ben Saddik. — © Geert Van de Velde
The attack is believed to have taken place around 5:30 a.m., according to police. Firecrackers may have been used in combination with accelerators. The lab and the federal judicial police arrive on the scene for an investigation.
(in jv)
