The local West Coast police zone spotted on the night of 25 on February 26 a suspicious vehicle with a British license plate near the Nieuwpoort marina. Nothing was found in the car, but a search in the area did yield something: the police eventually discovered fifteen transmigrants in the garden of a house, while a rubber inflatable boat, an outdoor motor and jerry cans with petrol were also found nearby. Remarkably, only four transmigrants had a life jacket.
Smuggling experience
During the interrogations, one of the transmigrants identified 27-year-old Alan J. as a human smuggler. The defendant even asked him to act as a driver. In addition, the Iraqi was previously sentenced to five years in prison in 2019 for human smuggling. In those circumstances, the prosecutor this time demanded three years of effective imprisonment and a 140,000 euro fine.
The defense requested an acquittal for human smuggling. After all, Master Bram Elyn raised serious doubts about the statements of the transmigrant who talked his client to the gallows. In his own words, J. just wanted to cross over to the United Kingdom himself. He would only have used his smuggling experience to give his own crossing a better chance of success. Verdict on June 24.