A 19-year-old German national was sentenced on Wednesday to 37 months in prison by the Bruges Correctional Court for trafficking migrants by boat.
The sentence covers the period of preventive detention. The prosecution had requested three years of prison, potentially with partial suspension.
The man drew police attention for speeding at 180 km/h. He was stopped for a vehicle check, during which officers found jerrycans, an outboard motor, a pump, a propeller, and an undersized inflatable boat. The car’s rear windows had been tinted black to hide the nautical equipment.
During questioning, the man claimed he was heading to Paris. However, his GPS indicated Poperinge as his actual destination. Further investigation revealed the vehicle had been spotted 17 times in Belgium since February.
The Duisburg teenager explained he was allowed to use the car by an acquaintance in exchange for delivering the equipment to France. He later admitted to making trips on April 26 and May 16, being recruited via Snapchat, and receiving €450 per trip.
The defence argued for acquittal. Lawyer Elise Standaert claimed her client did not know it involved human trafficking. “He thought that doing something illegal would earn him more money,” she told the court. However, evidence showed the man had researched human trafficking and police checks online.
The lawyer also mentioned that the defendant had lost his job two months earlier, leaving him in financial difficulty.
