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Helping Albanian traffickers, a lawyer in Belgium is sentenced to prison

Politiko 2023-12-13 12:46:31

Helping Albanian traffickers, a lawyer in Belgium is sentenced to prison

The former criminal lawyer of Antwerp in Belgium, Sahil Malik, has been sentenced to 5 years in prison, after being accused of helping the cartels to traffic cocaine.

"Sahil Malik grossly abused his position as a lawyer and provided extensive services to a criminal organization in the importation of cocaine from the port of Antwerp," the verdict states.

"He was paid a lot for it. It is clear that he was only looking for huge financial gains and did not care about the risks of his actions," it added.

Conversations with Albanians
Among them were messages from a certain "Sher". On May 2, 2020, an Albanian trafficker asked "Sher" if he could learn what happened to a shipment of cocaine that was seized at quay 1742. "Sher" replied that he had asked a pensioner whose wife still worked at the port. He could also put the Albanian in contact with the attackers, if he wanted. In other conversations he suggests that he had contacts at customs who could check whether the containers were selected for the scanner or not.

In the end, "Sher" sent an article to the newspaper about the seizure and asked for 25,000 euros for it.
"I was 'Sher'," Malik admitted after his arrest. According to the decision of the criminal court of Antwerp, he was aware of the activities of a drug cartel, and was even actively involved in it. At the request of the leaders, he received the protection of the gang members, just to be able to look at the criminal file and pass information to the cartel. He sent messages to his clients and was an intermediary for financial support. It is learned that the lawyer informed the clan if one of his clients did not adhere to his right to remain silent and continued to talk to the police.

In return, he wanted to  be paid  a lot, which he called "porridge". "The whole file is in the trash," said "Sher" on September 18, 2020, when he won a lawsuit. "I hope your friends are right and come with a big sports bag." In one case, Malik was paid by his Albanian contact with a Rolex watch, which is said to be worth 32 thousand euros. The investigation by the court of Antwerp revealed that it was a worthless forged copy.

"When he read the conversations, he realized he was not worthy of the platoon," the judge said. Malik is now disbarred as a lawyer. He was sentenced on Tuesday to 5 years in prison, of which 20 months were suspended, for membership in a criminal organization and money laundering. The court ordered the confiscation of 161 thousand euros. In practice, this means Malik will have to return to prison to serve his sentence. If he appeals, he will not have to go to jail pending a new trial. His lawyer, Louis De Groote, could not confirm on Tuesday whether that appeal will be made.

 

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