The Brussels Criminal Court yesterday sentenced 119 people as part of the "Sky ECC" trial, one of the biggest drug cases in Belgium, with sentences of up to 17 years in prison and massive confiscations.
In total, the criminal court in Brussels handed down about 700 years in prison and ordered the confiscation of about 60 million euros, not counting the bonds that will remain in the hands of the courts.
Belgian justice has also requested the arrest of 58 people, who until now had been investigated at large.
It is suspected that these persons, including many Albanians, may escape or commit criminal offenses again.
The seizures capture some of the profits made by traffickers when they sell cocaine and cannabis in Europe, but these profits are often reinvested in real estate, especially abroad. Belgium will have to recoup the money from the sale of the buildings.
As for the cooperation of foreign authorities, it is rarely quick and rarely simple.