Two main suspects hear drug gang if they get 22 years in prison for torture

The torture happened in April 2022. The then 17-year-old walking boy was tortured by a drug gang in the garage of a farm in Maldegem, after it was wrongly thought that he would have tipped a rival gang about a deal with 300 kilograms of cocaine. The perpetrators cut off the left -hand shell of the teenager, cut the tendons of a hand and cut a piece of a toe.

Four people were arrested in November 2022, after investigating camera images near the hospital where the victim was dropped off. Kristof D. came into the picture as a client and he was internationally deemed. It was previously thought that he was in Dubai, but he was arrested on the Philippines on October 17, 2023.

In the case, twenty suspects were eventually referred to the Ghent correctional court. Jonas W., who was sentenced by the Court of Appeal in Antwerp in January to fifteen years in prison for kidnapping and torture a Dutch drug criminal, was also referred. Together with D., he is considered leader of the criminal organization.

No civil party

Several defendants are Dutch and some suspects did not show up before the correctional court. But according to the prosecutor, the biggest absentee was the tortured young man, who had not set himself a civil party. “The starting point of the file was when the young man was dropped for the Eeklo hospital. Research shows that a shed in Maldegem on April 20, 2022 541 kilos of coke was arrived and from there was further divided. On 24 April, four armed men fell in, who seemed to have been present in a total of 340. Were, « said the prosecutor.

“The gang immediately went looking for De Mol and used drastic means. We suspect that they also had a lie detector test performed at the victims of the robbery. A remote location was sought where the torture would take place and a group of Dutch people also traveled to maldegem. have disappeared, « said the prosecutor.

180 million street value

The total street value of the drugs traded by the gang is estimated at 180 million euros. For D. and Jonas W., a prison sentence of thirteen years was demanded for torture and deprivation of liberty, and for drug crimes each nine years in prison and 800,000 euros fine. Four other leaders risk twelve years in prison, and for one of them, another five years in prison and 400,000 euros were demanded for drug facts. For defendants with a limited role, a work sentence or a prison sentence with a postponement was advanced. Several defendants asked the acquittal because there are insufficient evidence according to their lawyers.