The Brussels Correctional Court has sentenced five individuals, including two Brussels Airport workers, to prison terms for drug trafficking through Zaventem Airport.
The investigation led to the seizure of 123 kilograms of cocaine, with a street value of €6 million, as well as large sums of cash.
In 2023, authorities launched the inquiry after a video surfaced showing a Brussels Airport employee offering to facilitate the removal of goods from the airport.
Police identified the employee in the footage and closely monitored his movements. They observed him regularly present on the tarmac during the arrival of flights from Banjul, Gambia’s capital.
The suspect would oversee luggage unloading and personally escort baggage transport vehicles to a camera-free garage.
Through surveillance, investigators uncovered seven instances of drug smuggling between April and July 2023. In each case, the baggage vehicles were driven by the same second suspect, also employed at the airport.
The primary suspect was also tracked delivering three suitcases to three different individuals in Sterrebeek. On the day of their arrests, police discovered 43 kilograms of cocaine in one suitcase and 80 kilograms in another.
The first suspect’s lawyer argued that his client initially refused offers from criminals seeking his help for extra earnings but eventually complied under threats to his family.
"He was relieved to be arrested and to escape the clutches of this organisation. Since his conditional release, he has secured stable employment," the lawyer said, requesting a severe community service sentence instead of imprisonment.
Defence attorneys for the other suspects also cited coercion, linking the case to a broader wave of shootings and bomb attacks in Brussels and Antwerp, claiming their clients feared for their lives if they did not cooperate with criminal groups.
The court was not persuaded and sentenced all five defendants to four years of imprisonment without parole.
