Brussels leader bans e-scooters in drug hotspots

Brussels minister-president Boris Dilliès signed a police order to better combat drug trafficking and violence across the region. The order prohibits electric scooters, both privately owned and shared, in nineteen designated drug hotspots.

Dilliès aims to create consistent rules throughout the Brussels Capital Region, including banning pyrotechnic devices often used against police and restricting the sale of nitrous oxide to professionals.

In these nineteen hotspots, authorities will also forbid entering the area solely to purchase drugs, consuming alcohol in public, and selling alcohol for takeaway between 10 PM and 6 AM, except at restaurants and bars. Police will conduct round-the-clock identity checks and security controls. The ban on e-scooters stems from a finding that more than a quarter of shootings with drug-related motives between January 2025 and July 2026 involved the use of e-scooters, either for firing weapons or escaping.

Each hotspot will be evaluated by the mayor every three months, allowing for additions or removals from the list. Mayors retain primary responsibility for public order, but Dilliès can intervene if disturbances cross municipal boundaries, necessary measures aren’t taken, or the broader public interest demands it. This new system replaces previous six-month renewal orders issued since the launch of the regional anti-drug strategy in 2024.