Patronella VH., the wife of infamous Belgian drug lord Flor Bressers (aka ‘Finger Cutter’), was sentenced to two years in a Swiss prison on Wednesday, De Standaard reports.
Before her sentencing, Swiss prosecutors note that she had been living in the European tax haven “very luxuriously”.
The wife of the drug lord was sentenced in absentia by the Swiss court in Zürich. Petronella, a former beautician, remains in Belgium under house arrest with her son. She is banned from leaving the country.
Bressers was one of the most influential cocaine smugglers in Europe. Last year, he was finally intercepted by Swiss police in the luxury Renaissance Zürich Tower Hotel after being on Europe’s most-wanted list for several years.
With a master's degree in criminology, Bressers established himself in the drug trade and became the mastermind responsible for numerous trafficking schemes. His reputation for more forceful tactics of coercion and intimidation landed him the daunting nickname "The finger cutter".
The drug lord and his associates used a shell company to import 3.2 tonnes of cocaine through the port of Antwerp. This cocaine network was blown open as a result of the Sky ECC encryption service bust, which sent hundreds of drug traffickers to jail across Europe.
Bressers and his wife went into hiding in Switzerland, leading a lavish, if low-key, lifestyle. Prosecutors told the court of how the couple spent a fortune on jewellery (€684,000), handbags (€77,000), clothing (€223,000), and even massages (€32,620).
Using fake names, Petronella spent an average of €3,000 on 1313 bottles of wine with a fraudulent credit card. She also bought a boat worth €175,000. The couple also spent thousands of euros on the rent and renovation of their secret home on Lake Zürich.
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There is no question that Petronella knew where this money came from: drug trafficking. The lawyers of the drug boss’ wife found it difficult to disprove the damning evidence put forward by the prosecution. They cut a deal for Mrs. Bressers to spend two years in prison, with postponement. But it is highly unlikely that she will ever sit inside a Swiss cell.
Her husband’s trial is still ongoing. A decision on his referral to the criminal court will likely be made in September. He was previously sentenced to four years in prison in Belgium.
