---
category: Intelligence Operation
location: Charleroi, Belgium
start: 1995
summary: Operation Othello was the Belgian police investigation into Marc Dutroux's
  auto theft ring, which ran parallel to the Dutroux kidnapping investigation.
tags:
- Event
- Belgium
- 1990s
- Dutroux_Affair
---

Operation Othello was the Belgian police investigation into [Marc Dutroux](/people/marc-dutroux/)'s auto theft ring, which ran parallel to the Dutroux kidnapping investigation. It was through Othello that [Claude Thirault](/people/claude-thirault/) came forward with information about the dungeon [Marc Dutroux](/people/marc-dutroux/) had commissioned him to build in his basement. [Rene Michaux](/people/rene-michaux/) conducted searches of Dutroux's property under Othello but failed to discover the hidden dungeon containing [Julie Lejeune](/people/julie-lejeune/) and [Melissa Russo](/people/melissa-russo/).[^1]

[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.