One of six Dutchmen accused of murdering Belgian Raouf Ben Alita in 2018, Michel Zwik, received kudos from prison guards but was found deeply flawed by another source when his moral character, and that of his brother René, came up for discussion on Monday in the Ghent Assize Court.
The penitentiary guards described Michel Zwik as “a model prisoner” and a “leader figure” during his pre-trial detention.
However, Michel Zwik’s nephew, René’s son, said it was “cowardly” of the main suspect to be absent from his trial.
Raouf Ben Alita’s body was discovered on 6 December 2018 in a ditch along the Zeedijk in Kloosterzande, the Netherlands.
The fire brigade had been called to extinguish a vehicle fire and found the corpse during the operation. Among the reeds lay a Belgian police report bearing Ben Alita’s name.
Ben Alita, a 41-year-old Belgian of Tunisian descent, lived in Temse but had spent several years in prison since 1998, either in pre-trial detention or following convictions, including for drug-related cases.
In 2014, he was incarcerated in Dendermonde in a cocaine importation case, in which Michel Zwik was also detained in the same facility. The investigation into Ben Alita’s death pointed to Michel Zwik.
The Zwik brothers ran the Vintage Cars House, a garage in Stekene dealing primarily in old Volkswagen vans, which were fitted with hidden compartments for drug trafficking.
Investigators uncovered communications between the Zwik brothers and Ben Alita, revealing a dispute over a drug deal involving one of the Volkswagen vans.
During a search of the company’s premises, they found various bloodstains, bullets, and bullet casings. DNA analysis identified the blood as belonging to Ben Alita, Michel Zwik, and René Zwik.
Telecommunications and other inquiries have implicated four additional Dutchmen in the case.
All the accused pleaded not guilty to murder, but Michel Zwik was absent from the assize court on Monday.
