The ex-gendarmerie Willy Van Mechelen (80). Lucio Aquino (62), a scion of the infamous Limburg crime family. The Dutch drug baron ‘Bolle Jos’ L. (32). Geert F. (51), the chairman of the Belgian branch of the Bandidos motorcycle club. The Antwerp hooligan leader Nathan Steveniers (36). The lawyers Jan E. (65), Steve G. (47) and Philippe VM (43), a port terminal manager who was highly ranked at the Mexico Natie port company. This is a selection of the 57 people and five companies on trial at the major drug trial in Tongeren, which starts on Thursday. Among them are top figures from the underworld but also respected people from the upper world who are said to be too close to the criminals.
At the beginning of the investigation, two more local police officers were arrested because they were in close contact with drug boss Tom B., one of the gang leaders. One of them even went on holiday to B’s Spanish villa. But in the end the involvement of the agents in the smuggling could not be made clear enough. The 57 who do appear in court are on trial on suspicion of involvement in the smuggling of at least 25 tons of cocaine through the port of Antwerp. The drugs were hidden in shipments of bananas and avocados, but also in tropical wood and iron. The gang members allegedly laundered the millions in proceeds through, among other things, investments in luxury real estate in Belgium, especially in Kasterlee, and in Spain in the region around Malaga and Marbella. They also invested in boats, gold and luxury watches.
Five containers
When the investigation began in 2019, Sky ECC – the underworld’s messaging system – had not yet been cracked. The research was still done in the traditional way. At the end of 2019, after a risk analysis, customs discovered a shipment of almost 3 tons of cocaine from Costa Rica on the quay in Antwerp. That was the start of the investigation, which was codenamed Costa. The shipment of 3 tons of cocaine turned out to be destined for a company in Maasmechelen. The investigators tracked the drugs when a transporter came to collect the shipment. It turned out that it did not go to Maasmechelen but to a warehouse in the Netherlands. Investigators from the Limburg federal police soon discovered that Tom B., a 55-year-old Kempen resident who lived in Spain, was the kingpin behind the smuggling, together with the infamous ex-gendarmerie Van Mechelen.
In the 1990s, Van Mechelen was the chief of the Antwerp drugs brigade of the then gendarmerie. In 2002, he was sentenced to five years in prison in Antwerp for his involvement in the smuggling of two containers of marijuana. Van Mechelen had no desire to go to prison and disappeared into the world. Ten years later he was arrested in the Netherlands, where he lived under an assumed name. He served his sentence but then – despite his advanced age – remained active in crime.
The gang was dismantled at the end of September 2020. But at the beginning of November 2020, five more containers arrived at the quay in Antwerp, containing iron from Guyana. Those containers contained no less than 11.5 tons of cocaine. To date, this is the largest cargo ever discovered in one go in our country. That shipment was also ordered by the gang around Van Mechelen and Tom B. The drugs were on their way from South America by boat to Antwerp when the gang was arrested. It was too late to stop the delivery.
For Jos
After Sky ECC was deciphered in March 2021, investigators were still able to tie up many loose ends in the file. For example, the group around Tom B. and Van Mechelen appeared to work closely with three other groups that removed cocaine from the port of Antwerp. When they could use each other’s expertise, the gangs sometimes worked together.
The leaders and members of those groups will also be tried from Thursday. The federal public prosecutor’s office sees Lucio Aquino, Bandidos leader Geert F. and the fugitive Dutch drug boss ‘Bolle Jos’ as leaders in the three other groups, respectively. The latter is said to have worked closely with Nathan Steveniers, son of the basketball legend Willy Steveniers and one of the leaders of the Antwerp Casual Crew, the hooligans of the Antwerp football club.
The charges concern importing and trafficking in drugs, participation in various criminal organizations, money laundering, violations of weapons legislation and violation of professional secrecy. The trial on the merits will not start on Thursday. The parties only agree on the dates on which they will argue. There is a good chance that the process will turn into a procedural battle. The presence of a number of top lawyers does not bode well in this regard. For example, Hans Rieder is Geert F’s lawyer. There are fears that he will already use a series of procedural arguments on Thursday to postpone the trial.
