The Brussels Correctional Court on Thursday sentenced a 53-year-old man who had been held at Brussels Airport with nearly half a kilogramme of cocaine in his stomach to 36 months in prison for drug trafficking.
Customs officials intercepted the suspect on 10 October as he was returning from Curaçao. After a urine test revealed that he was positive for cocaine and cannabis, the man soon confessed that he was a trafficker. He had swallowed about 40 cocaine pellets weighing a total of 480 grammes.
The defendant had been released from prison in the Netherlands on 20 September after a long sentence, according to the prosecution. He then travelled to Curaçao for his father’s funeral and was reunited with his family, whom he had not seen for years, his lawyer said. He was asked to transport the drugs by acquaintances who told him that with the money he earned he would be able to visit his family more often.
The lawyer said his client was living under guardianship and in social housing. “If he stays in prison for too long, he will run out of time. We therefore request a suspended prison sentence of 24 months,” he pleaded.
The court turned down his request and sentenced the defendant to 36 months in prison.
