Switzerland allows evidence transfer in prosecution of suspected drug lord

Zurich prosecutors will be allowed to transfer evidence from a criminal case against a suspected drug lord arrested in February 2022 to Belgium. This was decided by a judge in Switzerland after the suspect appealed against the transfer. The suspect is said to be Belgian drug baron Flor Bressers.

Bressers was caught in Zurich in February 2022 and subsequently extradited to Belgium, where he was sentenced to four years in prison in 2020 for a drug-related hostage-taking. Bressers is also considered a key figure in a case involving large-scale cocaine imports, including a 3.2-tonne shipment of cocaine intercepted at the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands in 2020, as well as several other judicial investigations.

Both Switzerland and Belgium have ongoing drug trafficking proceedings against the alleged drug lord mentioned on Monday, which is why a joint investigation team was set up in both countries in early 2023. However, the man has appealed against the transfer of Swiss evidence requested by Belgium. The evidence in question is mainly transcripts of hearings.

Before his arrest, Bressers was considered one of the most influential cocaine smugglers in Europe. With a master's degree in criminology, he established himself in the drug trade and became the mastermind behind numerous trafficking schemes. His reputation for heavy-handed tactics of coercion and intimidation earned him the nickname The Finger Cutter.

^{© PHOTO PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP}