A 21-year-old man from Roosdaal was sentenced to an 18-month prison term with probation by the Brussels Correctional Court on Monday for dealing drugs.
The man had only been dealing for a very short time before being caught just hours after he started. According to the defendant, he had responded to an advertisement on Snapchat and was then pressured into drug dealing.
The police in Dilbeek had stopped the young man on 23 April 2023, as he was driving a severely damaged and unauthorised vehicle. Just before the police checked him, he threw a plastic bag out of the window, which was later found to contain 30 grams of cocaine. He also had €200 and a flick knife on him.
The man admitted to dealing drugs for only a few hours. He claimed that he had responded to an advert to earn quick money and was subsequently coerced into delivering drugs.
The police found messages on his smartphone dating back a few hours, with instructions to deliver drugs to specific addresses. He stated that he had made around twenty deliveries that evening.
"My client thought the advert was for delivering food but later realised it was for cocaine," said lawyer Gautier De Wachter.
"By then, he could not back out as the gang had already taken a photo of his ID card and threatened him. He only did what he was told and has no other connection to the drug scene."
The defence requested a suspended prison sentence, which the court granted.
