Trial of international drug gang postponed after dispute between judges and lawyers
The court hearing the trial against an international drug gang has postponed the trial for at least seven weeks after several challenges were filed over incidents that marred last Thursday’s session.
The session was abruptly terminated after two lawyers were removed from the courtroom by police. Since then, seven recusal requests have been filed by the defence. At least one is directed against the three judges presiding over the trial.
Flor Bressers, 39, from Limburg, is being tried alongside Brazilian Sergio Roberto de Carvalho and more than 30 other defendants. The two men are alleged to have led a network that imported massive quantities of cocaine into Europe from South America.
The trial, which was scheduled to take place in Bruges, was moved to Brussels for security reasons. It has been postponed until 12 November, but it is unclear if it will be able to go ahead on that date.
The investigation began in 2020 after police seized 3.2 tonnes of cocaine at the port of Rotterdam, hidden in a container from Brazil. It was destined for a wastewater treatment company in the port of Antwerp, which is suspected of being used as a front by the traffickers. Antwerp is Europe’s main entry point for cocaine.
An international police operation led to the arrest of 38 people in Belgium, Brazil, Spain and Dubai. Bressers was detained in Zurich in February 2022 and extradited that autumn. De Carvalho was arrested in Hungary in 2023 and jailed in Belgium.
#FlandersNewsService | Lawyer Renaat Landuyt at the courthouse, in Evere, Brussels, 22 September 2025 © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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