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More than 100 people have been convicted in Belgium's biggest drug trial .
Tuesday marks the culmination of the Sky ECC dossier, in which drug operations in Belgium and other European countries were exposed by cracking coded messages.
This big day in court is the result of authorities cracking billions of messages in the criminal networks of the Sky ECC and Encrochat apps.
For two years, detectives read the conversations, gaining information on criminal networks for the first time. Since then, more than 1,000 people from various gangs have been sentenced.
129 defendants (124 individuals, four companies and an anonymous party), including Belgian, Albanian, Colombian, Algerian and French nationals, were part of several drug gangs that together formed a large criminal network that oversaw the smuggling and trafficking of cocaine and cannabis.
On Tuesday they received their sentence in the biggest drug trial in Belgian history.
More than 100 defendants were convicted. Those identified by the prosecution as ringleaders received heavy sentences ranging from seven to 17 years.
For example, 57-year-old Algerian Abdelwahab G., the head of drug importation from South America and the logistics management of a large drug network, was sentenced to 17 years.
The prosecution had asked for 20 years, while his defense asked for a maximum of 10 to 15 years, with the argument that he was only an "intermediary".
The court has also confiscated the property that belonged to him in the amount of 15 million euros, reports the Belga news agency.
Another of the leaders, 51-year-old Albanian Eridan M, was sentenced to 14 years in prison (one year less than the term requested by the Federal Prosecutor's Office). 20 million euros from his property have been seized.
A third key figure, Bilal I., received 15 years in prison and 3 million euros of assets were confiscated.
Most of those convicted were lower-ranking gang members. They received sentences ranging from 14 months to 15 years. A former police officer was also sentenced to 5 years in prison, who provided gang members with sensitive information from police databases, some of which were suspended.
9 defendants were acquitted, including one who was confused with another alleged perpetrator because their names were so similar.
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