The Antwerp Correctional Court in on Friday handed down prison sentences of up to five years and fines of up to €24,000 to 26 defendants in a case against nine criminal organisations.
The network's members were exposed, thanks to an infiltrated undercover agent, as they set up logistics lines to import cocaine from South America.
The investigation started in late 2014 and lasted until May 2017, when the police intervened. A central role in the case was played by Dzevad L.. He was the person the infiltrator, undercover agent ‘Paco,’ managed to latch on to.
Dzevad L., who had built up a large criminal network, was always looking for quick cash gains through drug trafficking, and was the middleman between Paco and the organisations that wanted to use his ‘services.’ Paco was able to get hold of lists of sea vessels, knew which port terminals could be used for cocaine trafficking, and had a boat to pick up cocaine packages dropped into the sea.
The further the investigation progressed, the more criminal organisations came knocking on Paco’s door. The State eventually decided to prosecute nine of them with a total of 31 defendants, two of whom have since died.
The bulk of the indictments involved preparations for importing cocaine. However, some organisations went beyond preparations: on 16 February 2015, a consignment of 171 kgs of cocaine was found in a container from Costa Rica at the port of Antwerp. There was also talk of an attempt to import 337 kgs.
Criminal charges against the two deceased defendants were dropped. Three defendants were also acquitted. The others were given prison sentences and fines, most of which were fully or partly suspended.
