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A Belgian court has sentenced more than a hundred people for drug-related crimes in the country’s largest-ever criminal case, based on decrypted messages among gang members.
Sky ECC, an encrypted messaging service founded by a Canadian developer and used by criminal organisations worldwide, was cracked by Belgian, Dutch and French law enforcement in 2021, leading to large-scale raids and arrests in several European countries.
Based on that evidence, a court in Brussels on Tuesday sentenced 119 people to prison terms ranging between 14 months and 17 years. Prosecutors had asked for up to 20 years in prison for some of the accused. Nine people were acquitted of the charges.
The case has highlighted Belgium’s growing problem with drugs-related criminal activity, as its port of Antwerp has emerged as the main European gateway for Latin American cocaine. Belgian…