A man from France is facing 36 months in prison for his involvement in drug trafficking after being detected by authorities in Brussels. Nine kilograms of cocaine were found in his suitcase at customs – a delivery that should have earned him €15,000.
On 6 June, the 41-year-old landed at Brussels airport on a flight from Accra, Ghana. He immediately appeared suspiciously nervous when detained by customs officers, prompting a search of his baggage. 24 vacuum-sealed packages were found in his suitcase, later identified to contain a total of nine kilograms of cocaine.
The forty-year-old was immediately placed under arrest. On Monday 26 August, the Hal-Vilvorde public prosecutor's office called for a 36-month prison sentence against the man before the Dutch-speaking criminal court in Brussels.
The defence asked for a more lenient sentence. "My client is the father of ten in France and had taken a year’s unpaid leave to open a fish restaurant," his lawyer said. "Things went badly and he ended up with a €100,000 debt. Someone took advantage of his difficult situation and offered him this delivery job. €15,000 was promised to him in return, with which he could have repaid part of his debt."
The lawyer refuted the prosecutors' claims that the man is part of a criminal organisation. “This is false. He only knows his contact and has no idea how many people are involved in this trafficking. He has cooperated as much as possible with the investigation, but has not dared to answer certain questions for fear of reprisals.”
A verdict is expected on 30 August.
