Amsterdam resident from drug background arrested in investigation into murder of Firdaous (11): Brussels suspect released | Drug war in Antwerp

On Monday, January 9 last year, five shots rang out in Nieuwdreef in Merksem around 6:20 p.m. The garage door of a house belonging to a family with five children has come under fire. At that moment the father is at home, together with his three daughters. He and the two eldest girls, aged 13 and 18, are slightly injured and are taken to hospital for treatment. The youngest daughter of 11, Firdaous, is hit by a bullet and does not survive.

The investigation into the murder and murder attempts was difficult, but gained momentum two weeks ago. The investigators arrested a man (21) from Brussels and a woman (53) from Putte. A technical reconstruction took place on Monday evening, after which the investigating judge decided to lift the arrest of the 21-year-old man.

The 21-year-old Brussels resident was taken to Vuurkruisenlaan in Merksem on Monday evening for a reconstruction. According to spokesperson Kristof Aerts of the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office, the man had to walk through the street a number of times while he was being filmed. These images were then compared with the images from the investigation report.

On Tuesday morning, lawyer Tanja Smit was told that the 21-year-old Brussels resident had been released by the investigating judge. A huge relief for the man. “My client was upset when he was arrested in the context of this murder investigation,” said lawyer Tanja Smit. “He says he has nothing to do with the case. I am satisfied that the investigating judge has carried out our request for additional research – including technical reconstruction – so quickly.”

The 53-year-old woman from Putte will still remain in jail. She was already known to the court for drug offenses and possession of weapons of war. Her DNA was also found on one of the shell casings found at the house in Nieuwdreef. This means that the woman has handled the ammunition at least once.

On Monday and Tuesday, the Federal Judicial Police (FGP) Antwerp carried out house searches in Amsterdam, Breda and Rotterdam. Two suspects were arrested there: a 31-year-old man in Amsterdam and a 24-year-old woman from Breda. “Attacks in Antwerp have often shown a link to Dutch people involved,” says spokesperson Kristof Aerts of the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office. “These two suspects had previously come into the picture during the investigation into the murder of Firdaous. The searches are not a result of the investigation report and the tips we received in response. The investigating judge has requested the extradition of the two suspected Dutch nationals to Belgium.”

According to the Dutch newspaper Het Parool, one of the suspects is 31-year-old Nahésson C. from Amsterdam. He will have to stand trial in the Netherlands in a few months for his involvement in large-scale cocaine trafficking. In that criminal case, he and three other suspects are accused of importing 3.5 tons of cocaine via the ports of Rotterdam and/or Antwerp in the spring of 2020. The men were also in possession of a submachine gun and a pistol. The Dutch police mainly base their suspicions on decrypted messages from chat services such as Sky ECC.

Spokesperson Kristof Aerts of the public prosecutor’s office: “The investigation into other people involved is continuing fully through the Aggression department of FGP Antwerp and under the leadership of the investigating judge.”

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