Over 100 sentenced for drug-related crimes in Belgium’s largest trial

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A Belgian court has sentenced more than a hundred people for drug-related crimes in the country’s largest-ever criminal case, based on decrypted messages among gang members.

Sky ECC, an encrypted messaging service founded by a Canadian developer and used by criminal organisations worldwide, was cracked by Belgian, Dutch and French law enforcement in 2021, leading to large-scale raids and arrests in several European countries.

Based on that evidence, a court in Brussels on Tuesday sentenced 119 people to prison terms ranging between 14 months and 17 years. Prosecutors had asked for up to 20 years in prison for some of the accused. Nine people were acquitted of the charges.

The case has highlighted Belgium’s growing problem with drugs-related criminal activity, as its port of Antwerp has emerged as the main European gateway for Latin American cocaine. Belgian customs last year seized 116 tonnes of cocaine in the port, setting a record for the second year in a row.

Among those condemned was a former police officer, sentenced to five years in prison for giving criminals sensitive information from police databases.

“The court wanted to highlight that this type of criminal organisation destabilises society and the rule of law,” said Denis Goeman, a spokesperson for the Brussels court.

He said people were punished according to the severity of their crimes which included drug trafficking, money laundering, arms trafficking, extortion and kidnapping.

Among the main defendants was Eridan Munoz Guerrero, an Albanian national who admitted having run a cocaine trafficking operation in Brussels and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. “I played and I lost,” Munoz Guerrero said during court proceedings, in which his legal team succeeded in lowering his sentence from 19 years.

“I am satisfied of the judgment,” said his lawyer, Nathalie Gallant. “The court, although he played a leading role, and was among those with the highest amounts of [drugs] confiscation, has reduced his sentence.”

Europol has described decrypting Sky ECC messages as having provided “invaluable insights” into criminal organisations.

Defence lawyers had argued that the decryption was unlawful and constituted a violation of privacy, but the court dismissed those arguments.

Kris Luyckx, defence lawyer for two of the accused, said he would appeal against the rulings against his clients, who were sentenced to 12 and 11 years respectively for drug trafficking and money laundering.

The Belgian case is one among several in Europe based on decrypted messages, with countries including the Netherlands and France also pursuing crime lords and their associates based on similar evidence.