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Belgian justice has also requested the arrest of 58 people, who until now had been investigated at large. It is suspected that these persons, including many Albanians, may escape or commit criminal offenses again.
The Brussels Criminal Court yesterday sentenced 119 people as part of the "Sky ECC" trial, one of the biggest drug cases in Belgium, to sentences ranging from 14 to 17 years in prison and massive confiscations.
In total, the criminal court in Brussels handed down about 700 years in prison and ordered the confiscation of about 60 million euros, not counting the bonds that will remain in the hands of the courts.
The Encro trial is about a major criminal organization dismantled thanks to the police crackdown of encrypted messaging services Encrochat in 2020 and Sky ECC in 2021.
129 defendants (124 individuals, four anonymous companies), including Belgian, Albanian, Colombian, Algerian and French nationals, were part of several drug gangs that together formed a large criminal network overseeing the smuggling and trafficking of cocaine and cannabis .
119 people were found guilty of various charges, from participation in a criminal organization, drug and arms trafficking to attempted extortion and kidnapping.
57-year-old Algerian Abdelwahab G., the head of importing drugs from South America and managing the logistics of the 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 also confiscated the property that belonged to the Algerian in the amount of 15 million euros.
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.
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.
Belgian justice has also requested the arrest of 58 people, who until now had been investigated at large. It is suspected that these persons, including many Albanians, may escape or commit criminal offenses again.
The court finally ordered 49 immediate arrests out of 58 requested by the prosecutor.
The seizures capture some of the profits made by traffickers when they sell cocaine and cannabis in Europe, but these profits are often reinvested in real estate, especially abroad. Belgium will have to recoup the money from the sale of the buildings.
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