A customs officer who had been sentenced to five years in prison and a hefty fine for importing drugs and passive corruption has been acquitted. Further investigation showed there was insufficient evidence.
The case involving the 60-year-old Belgian, who worked as a customs officer at the port of Antwerp and was referred to as D.M., was one of many cases that arose from the breaking of the encrypted messaging service Sky ECC, used by criminal gangs. Messages from one drug lord using it, Tom Michielsen, indicated he had corrupted a customs officer, who allowed a container full of drugs to pass through the port.
"The job is done, I stayed away from your container, but it's going to be expensive," the intercepted message to Tom Michielsen read. The message was initially attributed to the D.M. as part of the investigation. He was arrested in the summer of 2022 and spent three weeks in prison, after which he was placed under house arrest.
Not proven
He was initially given a five-year prison sentence and a fine of €56,000 for importing cannabis, heroin and opium via a container and passive bribery in December 2023. However, he proclaimed his innocence and has now been proven right. He was acquitted by the court of appeal on Wednesday.
"After additional investigation, the court ruled that it had not been proven that D. was the user of the SKY ECC device that was used during the import," said Els De Brauwer, press magistrate at the Antwerp court.
"After the additional investigation and at the request of the Public Prosecution Service, the court of appeal acquitted customs officer D." The further investigation was requested by the defendant's lawyer. In its decision, the court of appeal followed the prosecution's recommendation.
D.M. should be able to return to his job as a customs officer, however, he will no longer be working in the port area.
The Sky ECC crack highlighted how Belgium's legal world was infiltrated and corrupted by organised crime. Logistics and administrative employees at the port, shipping company staff, and owners of port warehouses were among the suspects. So too were lawyers, customs officers, police officers and even a prosecutor's office employee.
