Brussels, (Brussels Morning)- At the trial of the more than thirty defendants who are on trial for drug trafficking in the Peterbos Park in Anderlecht, the Public Prosecution Service has demanded heavy prison sentences against the suspected leaders of the dismantled criminal organisation. The prosecutor is demanding 10 years in prison against the main suspect and 6, 7 and 8 years in prison against some accused who allegedly had a leadership role, says BRUZZ.
The case revolves around a drug gang that operated from one of the residential towers in the Peterbos Park in Anderlecht. Weed, cannabis resin and cocaine were sold on the ground floor, while the drugs were cut a few floors higher.
The entire criminal organisation was dismantled in the autumn of last year when the police carried out house searches with several hundred men in November and December at more than thirty addresses in Anderlecht, Brussels, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Puurs-Sint. -Amands, Schaerbeek, Saint-Gilles and Asse. In addition to drugs, the police mainly seized large sums of cash.
‘No decisions’
During the interrogation by the president of the court earlier this week, some of the defendants minimised their role. “Yes, I sold or adulterated drugs, but I didn’t make any decisions,” it sounded.
The Brussels public prosecutor sees this differently and is prosecuting various suspects as the leader of a criminal organisation. The prosecutor is demanding 10 years in prison against the main suspect. Against several suspects who were closely involved in the drug trade and who would have had a leadership role, the public prosecutor is asking for prison sentences of 6 to 8 years.
Six defendants who are only being prosecuted for dealing drugs face 18 months in prison. Several of their lawyers have already been given the floor in recent days and have argued for community service.
The lawyers also disputed the huge confiscation of 630,000 euros that the prosecutor is claiming against all the defendants together. According to the drug dealers’ lawyers, the confiscation must be calculated individually because the proportion of their clients is much smaller than that of the suspected ringleaders of the organisation. One of the dealers also claims that he is not part of the gang that was active in the Peterbos Park, but only sold drugs for his own account.
The pleas of the suspects who threaten to end up behind bars for years will start next week. The verdict is not expected until December.
