Seven defendants were sentenced to up to four years in prison by the Antwerp Correctional Court on Monday for their involvement in the kidnapping of Mohamed A., an ex-bouncer nicknamed The Skull.
Mohamed A. was abducted on the evening of 22 February 2023 from the motorway parking area along the E19 in Waarloos.
At least four individuals participated in the kidnapping and wore fake bulletproof police vests and armbands. Witnesses immediately alerted the police.
CCTV footage revealed that a Volkswagen Tiguan and a Citroën Picasso were also possibly involved in the incident.
The black Volkswagen Golf was spotted later that evening at the Wommelgem roundabout before taking the Autolei towards Borsbeek.
Mohamed A. was initially held overnight in the vicinity of Wommelgem or Borsbeek. The following day, he was transported in a Mercedes Sprinter to a basement apartment in Saint-Joost-Ten-Node.
There, he was beaten and repeatedly threatened with death. The kidnappers released a video on social media in which a handcuffed Mohamed A. said he was not going to be released until ‘King’ and ‘Smiley’ returned the stolen cocaine. On 4 March, he was transferred to another location, presumably somewhere in Antwerp.
Mohamed A. was eventually released on 26 March. He told police that he had received messages accusing him of theft and asking whether he was ‘King’ or ‘Smiley’.
He had then contacted King, who asked him to come with him to an appointment at the motorway car park, where he was going to explain everything. King did not show up, his captors did. The investigation had 10 defendants, three of whom were acquitted.
