Brussels, (Brussels Morning)- More than thirty defendants will have to answer for their involvement in drug trafficking in the infamous Peterbos Park in Anderlecht in the next three weeks. Before the trial, the court exceptionally moved to the assize room of the Brussels court of justice to accommodate the 33 suspects, their lawyers and the more than twenty police officers responsible for security for this trial.
The case revolves around a drug gang that operated from one of the residential towers in the infamous Peterbos Park in Anderlecht. Weed, cannabis resin and cocaine were sold on the ground floor, while the drugs were cut a few floors higher, says BRUZZ.
The entire criminal organisation was dismantled in the autumn of last year when, in November and December of 2021, the police carried out searches with several hundred men at more than thirty addresses in Anderlecht, Brussels, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Puurs- Saint-Amands, Schaerbeek, Saint-Gilles and Asse. In addition to drugs, the police mainly seized large sums of cash.
The Defendants
The trial started this morning with the interrogation of the defendants, but most of the defendants clearly have no intention of revealing much. “I was indeed involved,” Ayoub T said. “I sometimes cut up drugs and got paid for it. But I’m not going to name the people I worked for here.”
The same could also be heard with Achraf B., who, according to the prosecutor’s office, was the right-hand man of one of the top figures within the organisation. “It’s true that I played a role, but not the role that is attributed to me in the file. I sometimes went to work a shift when I needed money, that’s all. I refuse to talk about the people who were involved.”
The man also denied his involvement in a punitive expedition in November 2020, in which some members of the drug gang from the Peterbos Park would have cracked down on their competitors on nearby Lemmensplein. “I have never participated in any acts of violence,” it said.
Youth of the neighbourhood
A large part of the defendants are young people who grew up in and around the Peterbos Park and wanted to earn money quickly by participating in the drug trade that was rampant there. During their interrogation, many stated that they could earn 100 to 150 euros per four-hour shift, keeping watch, cutting drugs or guarding an amount of money and/or drugs.
“I worked there two or three times a week,” said one suspect nicknamed ‘Scorpio’. “The other day I was in a youth club. I sold weed, but I don’t know for whom. They were all masked. The only people I know here are childhood friends who live in Peterbos Park.”
The whole process will take three weeks. On Tuesday afternoon, the public prosecutor will take the floor for his claim. A ruling is not expected until December.
