Man paid to swallow over 100 cocaine capsules convicted after arrest at Brussels Airport

Man paid to swallow over 100 cocaine capsules convicted after arrest at Brussels Airport
An X-Ray shows drug-filled capsules inside . a human body. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

A man who swallowed over 100 cocaine-filled capsules in an attempt to smuggle them into Brussels Airport has been sentenced to over 40 months in prison by a Brussels court.

The unidentified man, aged 32, was detained at the airport in August after he caught the attention of customs officers for looking "very nervous and sweaty."

The man had arrived in Belgium on a flight from the Dominican Republic, and the investigation following his arrest revealed he had swallowed no fewer than 125 capsules filled with cocaine, according to Bruzz.

The man had reportedly been offered €4,000 for transporting the drug load into Belgium, with his lawyer pleading for a light sentence despite a previous conviction for drug smuggling into the airport in 2012, for which he was given a 36-month prison sentence.

"My client was desperate, he urgently needed money to pay his children's school bills," he said. "He has taken a big risk for a relatively small amount."

The prosecutor had originally asked for a 48-moth prison sentence against the man, noting the recurrent nature of his actions, but the correctional court ultimately handed him a 44-month prison sentence.

Gabriela Galindo

The Brussels Times


Copyright © 2024 The Brussels Times. All Rights Reserved.