Key figures in Sky ECC trial sentenced to up to 17 years in prison
The Brussels Correctional Court has sentenced major players in the Sky ECC case, one of Belgium’s largest criminal trials, to prison terms ranging from seven to 17 years. The case centres on a large-scale drug trafficking network exposed through intercepted communications on the encrypted messaging platform Sky ECC.
Among the defendants were prominent figures like Abdelwahab G, an Algerian gang leader, and Eridan M, an Albanian ringleader. They were sentenced to 17 and 12 years in prison respectively.
The trial also implicated professionals such as Sofian B, a lawyer who provided logistical support to the criminals, and Bernard W, a Brussels police officer, who was convicted for tipping off the gang. The officer received a five-year sentence, two years of which are suspended, along with a 40,000-euro fine, while the lawyer was sentenced to 40 months in prison.
The Sky ECC case tried more than 100 defendants from multiple connected criminal groups involved in the smuggling of cocaine from South America and cannabis from Morocco. The groups were uncovered after Belgian police cracked the encrypted networks of EncroChat in 2020 and Sky ECC in 2021.
The sentencing session was delayed by 45 minutes due to a symbolic protest by court interpreters, who refused to work due to delayed payments from the Justice ministry. “We haven’t been paid for our August work, though payments should be made within 30 days,” said one interpreter.
A police officer at the drug trial that started after the decryption of encryption softwares Encrochat and Sky ECC, before the Brussels correctional court © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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