The Mechelen Criminal Court found a man guilty of drug trafficking on Wednesday. He sold vapes containing ecstasy and cannabis to minors. He was handed a sentence of 18 months in prison and a fine of 12,000 euros.
The investigation began in February 2024 when several young people from two secondary schools in Heist-op-den-Berg became unwell after using a vape pen.
The vapes were tested and found to contain cannabis and ecstasy. Several young people testified that they had purchased the devices from the defendant.
“The man was selling from the apartment where he was staying with his mother,” the public prosecutor’s office stated.
“A house search was conducted there, during which user quantities of hashish, a used vape pen, and a disposable vape pen were found. The man admitted to being an intermediary who sold the vapes but claimed he did not know they contained actual drugs.”
Because the man had previous convictions for drug offenses and was undergoing a drug enforcement program when these offenses occurred, the public prosecutor’s office requested a three-year sentence and an 8,000 euro fine.
The man requested a suspended sentence with probation. “He never intended to sell dangerous vapes,” said his lawyer, Liesbeth De Vleeschouwer. “The man himself struggles with persistent drug use and lacks the strength to kick the habit himself; the urge for cannabis is too strong. He would benefit from residential care; sending him to prison is not a solution.”
However, the judge believed the man had been given sufficient opportunity and sentenced him to eighteen months and a €12,000 fine, both effective immediately. His mobile phone, vapes, and the drugs found were confiscated.
