A Spanish man in his fifties has been sentenced to 36 months in prison by the Brussels criminal court for drug smuggling after customs officers found 81 pellets of cocaine, totalling 890 grams, in his body.
The man had arrived at Brussels Airport on 28 November from the Dominican Republic. Upon his arrival, a customs urine test came back positive for cocaine. He was taken to hospital, where a scan revealed he had swallowed 81 cocaine pellets.
The prosecution stated, "During questioning, the man claimed that the drugs were for personal use. This is, of course, implausible and clearly part of organised drug smuggling within a criminal organisation. I request a prison sentence of 36 months."
In court, the man chose to remain silent and invoked his right to silence, while his lawyer appealed for leniency from the court.
"There is no excuse for these actions, and my client realises he made a mistake and took an enormous risk," the lawyer said. "However, he has no ties to Belgium, and his life is entirely based in Spain. It would serve little purpose for him to remain in prison here for several more months. We therefore request a suspended sentence."
The court found no reason to be lenient and imposed the requested sentence of 36 months.
