In the fall of 2019, a routine check at the Port of Antwerp kickstarted one of Belgium's largest criminal court cases. Spanning almost seven years, it has seen 51 people charged with drug-related crimes.
On Thursday, the court in Tongeren convicted 47 individuals and handed them a combined prison sentence of 250 years. In total, over 25 tonnes of cocaine and over €40 million in criminal assets were confiscated.
It all began on 28 October 2019. Hidden in a container filled with tropical wood, police officers found 89 bags filled with 2,220 blocks of cocaine, amounting to roughly 2,700 kilos. The drugs are valued at roughly €135 million and were shipped from Costa Rica.
The origin of the shipment – Costa Rica – gave the investigation its nickname: the Costa case.
Police swapped the bricks with dummies and put the container back in its place. A day later, a truck picks it up and leads police to a factory in the Dutch town of Zeverbergen. Here, the first key figures in the drug ring show their face.
Behind a restaurant near the factory, police spotted Tom Bastiaanse, nicknamed 'baby Escobar', and former police officer Willy Van Mechelen.
Lawyer Jeroen Vandenberk pictured at the court ruling in the trial against 62 defendants suspected of a large-scale international drug smuggling operation at the correctional court in Tongeren, Thursday, July 30, 2026. Credit: Belga
Bastiaanse ran a company importing cars through the Port of Antwerp, and used his connections to smuggle containers containing drugs out of the secured environment, while providing his services to the largest criminal gangs in Flanders and the Netherlands.
The investigation was able to link Bastiaanse's business activities to some of the most notorious drug traffickers in Belgium: Lucio Aquino, ‘Bolle Jos’ Leijdekkers, Nathan Steveniers and Geert ‘Bandido’ Frisson.
With love, from Sierra Leone
Frisson, the leader of the Spanish division of a biker gang, Bandidos, is easy to recognise: he has tattoos of the name of his gang on his face and the word "F*CK THE POLICE" on his neck. He smuggled drugs in containers with scrap metal, coffee and sugar.
In 2020, police broke open a container with metal imported by Frisson, where they found 11.5 tonnes of cocaine inside – the largest-ever seizure of cocaine outside the Americas.
He received a prison sentence of 13 years, and the court confiscated €15 million in criminal funds.
Lucio Aquino used a banana business as a front to import Colombian cocaine. His employees were trained to spot the boxes containing drugs and swap them out without leaving a trace.
According to his own messages, he had been active for over 13 years. Aquino's sentencing was delayed as he had been extradited to Italy to face different charges there.
Former police officer Willy Van Mechelen arrives for the start of the trial against 62 defendants suspected of a large-scale international drug smuggling operation at the court in Tongeren, Tuesday 02 September 2025. Credit: Belga
Leijdekkers and Steveniers run a similar business to Bastiaanse. They export cars through the port, but use the front to enter the secured area and break open containers with drugs. But when accomplices of Steveniers get caught, he accuses Leijdekkers of snitching.
Leijdekkers, who has multiple convictions for drug-related offences in Belgium and the Netherlands, was not present in the court.
Investigators believe he has fled to Sierra Leone, where he reportedly is dating the daughter of President Julius Maada Bio. He was given a prison sentence of 14 years. Steveniers was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Finally, Bastiaanse was handed a prison sentence of 12 years, and will have €15 million in assets seized. His partner in crime, Van Mechelen, was given 9 years, but due to his advanced age, he will likely not have to serve his sentence.
