The Antwerp's Criminal Court handed out prison sentences of up to 12 years to the suspects at what has been dubbed the “bombs and grenades trial”. 3 of the 50 defendants that were on trial have been acquitted. Those convicted were found guilty of being part of the criminal organisation led by the notorious Antwerp drug baron Nordin El Hajjioui, alias ‘Dikke Nordin’. Dikke Nordin led the gang from Dubai to where he had fled to escape justice. He faces a separate trial in January.
Leading members of gangster ‘Fat Nordin’s’ drug gang sentenced to jail terms of between 7 and 12 years
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A total of 50 defendants stood trial, some of whom were convicted in their absence. Some were given community service sentences, others suspended prison sentences. 3 of the defendants were acquitted.
Those that were considered to have been the leaders of the criminal organisation received the highest sentences of between 7 and 12 years in prison.
VRT News sources say that a least 1 of those convicted is to lodge an appeal.
Belgium, the Netherlands and Dubai
Nordin El Hajjioui started smuggling drugs in Antwerp as a 20-year-old. After been convicted for narcotics offences, he fled to Dubai in 2016. From there, he led a criminal organisation that was active in Belgium and the Netherlands.
When passing sentence, the trial judge described Nordin El Hajjioui's gang as a “well-oiled criminal organisation” that imported drugs through the port of Antwerp. It had hideouts, cryptophones, storage facilities and vehicles with concealed spaces for the smuggling of drugs.
In its verdict the court weighed particularly heavily in on the many firearms recovered during the investigation into the gang’s activities.
18 million euro
The investigation into ‘Dikke Nordin’s’ gang began back in 2019, when a drunken woman literally shot herself in the foot at a flat in Zwijndrecht, near Antwerp. Properties were searched and police discovered large quantities of drugs, fireaems and cash. Operation Sky ECC eventually lead to the identification and arrest of the entire gang.
Nordin El Hajjioui's accomplices were instructed to carry out grenade attacks in Belgium, steal containers of cocaine and conduct other illegal activities. The value of all the cocaine smuggled by the gang is estimated to be over 18 million euro.
Because of the many violent crimes that are linked to the gang, the case was nicknamed “bombs and grenades”.
Nordin El Hajjioui was extradited to Belgium March this year. His trial will get under way in January.