The prosecution on Thursday (1 June) in Antwerp demanded prison sentences of up to five years against six men involved in an attempt to extract nearly 1.2 tonnes of cocaine. The consignment had already been seized by customs in Rotterdam.
When Dutch customs checked a container from Panama at the port of Rotterdam, they found several sports bags containing 1,160 kilos of cocaine among the cargo. The batch of narcotics was removed from the container and replaced with fake drugs. The container was then put back on the ship, which continued its journey to the port of Antwerp.
The container was unloaded at Kaai 1742. On 27 September 2022, investigators saw dock worker João B.P. place it next to another container with his straddle carrier and put additional containers around it. After the sports bags were transferred from one container to another, João B.P. put the containers back in place.
Arrests
The container with the sports bags was then picked up by truck driver Jago S. and taken to a shed on the Oude Baan in Wilrijk. When three other vehicles then arrived, the police intervened. Besides Jago S., Zoubair Z., Gilbert S. and Arjan K. were also arrested. According to the prosecutor, they had to unload the sports bags and further distribute them among the vehicles. A hidden compartment was found in one of them, in which the drugs could be hidden. Through Jago S., Nelson D.N. also came into the picture, who allegedly arranged the unloading.
Confession
João B.P. confessed that he had moved the containers for a switch. He had been approached by the drug trade but initially refused to cooperate. When threats were made to his family, he gave in anyway.
Zoubair Z. and Arjan K. admitted their involvement at the hearing. They had been promised 5,000 and 10,000 euros to help unload the container. Most defendants asked the court to give them a sentence (partly) with probation deferred. Gilbert S. was the only one to go for acquittal.
Port ban
For Nelson D.N., Jago S. and João B.P., the prosecutor sought five years in prison and a €24,000 fine. For Zoubair Z., Gilbert S. and Arjan K., four years in prison and 12,000 euros were demanded. A 10-year port ban was also demanded for all defendants. The verdict falls on 16 June.
It seems that the activity of drug offenders in the port has been increasing again recently. Recently, two significant drug seizures, one of nearly 2.8 tonnes and one of 772 kilograms, were made at the MPET terminal.
