Police officers fired at a car in the Mollenbeck district of Brussels and called for sappers after the driver said explosives were in the car, Belgium's federal prosecutor's office were quoted by Reuters.
The man, whose car was with German licence plate, has been driving suspiciously and has not stopped at a red traffic light, BTV told. Police arrested him after a chase at a high speed, shooting in his tires to slow him down. Law enforcement authorities blocked access to the area of the incident and warned residents to stay at home while the experts checked the vehicle.
The poor Mollenbeck, inhabited predominantly by Muslims of Moroccan descent, gained prominence after a local Islamic State cell committed suicide attacks in Paris in November 2015, killing 130 people.
Four months later, people close this group made an attack in Brussels that killed 32 people.