The Hasselt correctional court on Friday sentenced a seven-man gang of car thieves to prison terms ranging from 12 to 40 months and community service.
The main defendant, a 25-year-old man from Molenbeek, received a 40-month suspended prison sentence.
A 21-year-old from Woluwe-Saint-Lambert was sentenced to 200 hours of community service or an alternative prison sentence of 25 months, while a 23-year-old man from Molenbeek was also sentenced to 200 hours of community service.
The stolen cars were processed in a warehouse in Ronse, from where gang members drove them to Brussels. A 32-year-old Schaerbeek man, a former manager of a pita restaurant in Ronse with links to the shed’s owner, was sentenced to 250 hours’ community service or an alternative prison sentence of 30 months.
The Ronse shed contained eight stolen vehicles, two of which had been taken from Hasselt and Heusden-Zolder. There was also a Lexus, three Toyotas, a Renault Megane and a Range Rover stolen in Cologne, Germany. All these vehicles showed signs of forced entry and appeared to have been modified.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the gang was well organised: police found a licensed firearm, a converted alarm pistol, bullet-proof vests, police armbands and flashing lights in a rented garage box.
A 26-year-old and a 34-year-old from Ronse were sentenced in absentia to 30 and 15 months in prison respectively. A 25-year-old from Roermond was given a 12-month jail sentence.
Civil parties were awarded almost €81,000 in damages.
