Brussels Times
The trial of an international drug ring, allegedly led by Flor Bressers (37) and Brazilian Sergio Roberto de Carvalho (65), is set to restart on Monday in the Bruges criminal court.
The proceedings had previously been halted in February after all three judges were successfully challenged. Monday’s session will serve as a new preliminary hearing to determine the timetable for the trial debates
The case began in late 2019 when investigators discovered that the Antwerp water treatment company Kriva Rochem was involved in cocaine imports from Brazil. In April 2020, 3.2 tonnes of cocaine were intercepted in Rotterdam’s port, concealed in manganese ore containers, leading to the arrest of Kriva Rochem’s 80-year-old CEO and several of his relatives in June 2020.
Investigators later uncovered encrypted phone conversations suggesting the drug shipments were part of a much larger operation. In November 2020, Europol revealed that at least 45 tonnes of cocaine had been smuggled through European ports in just six months. A subsequent international operation resulted in 38 arrests in Brazil, alongside detentions in Belgium, Spain, and Dubai.
Flor Bressers, who is considered one of the key figures in the criminal organisation, was arrested in Switzerland in February 2022 and has remained in custody since. Similarly, Sergio Roberto de Carvalho was detained in Hungary in June 2022 and extradited to Belgium a year later
A total of 31 suspects have been referred to the Bruges criminal court, including Bressers’ alleged lieutenants, his girlfriend, and former high-profile lawyer Pol Vandemeulebroucke. The federal prosecutor claims Vandemeulebroucke shared documents from the Kriva Rochem drugs case with Bressers during the latter’s time on the run.
Read more at
https://www.brusselstimes.com/2023537/trials-of-belgian-led-international-drug-ring-resume
