Belgian Trial Begins for 2020 Covid Lockdown Kidnapping of 13-Year-Old Boy

The kidnapping of Renan took place on the night of April 20-21, 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdown, in a residential area of Genk as his family was preparing to move. Four masked fake policemen entered their home through the back door, which was broken down with a battering ram. They shouted "Police, Police." The 13-year-old teenager’s father was beaten before being handcuffed behind his back and forced to lie face down, as was his wife. She was restrained with zip ties.

These alleged armed policemen spoke Arabic. But the one who appeared to be the leader said in Dutch to the father: "Listen. You’re going to pay 4-5 million or you’ll never see your son again." And he added: "And if I ever see a police car or lab van in front of your door, your son is dead." "The father tries to negotiate, asking the kidnappers to take him instead of his son. One of the kidnappers points and taps on the father’s electronic bracelet, who was under house arrest with electronic monitoring," reports La Libre.be.

The kidnappers take Renan, gagged and bound, leaving the father a basic Nokia mobile phone and a SIM card to insert into it, and the keys to the handcuffs restraining him. Destination: Maaseik. They explained to the teenager that his father had stolen something that belonged to them and they wanted to get it back. They did not mistreat the boy. They did, however, demand a ransom. After two ransom deliveries (the first on May 7, 2020, just before midnight: 128,527 euros in cash, gold worth 100,000 euros, and 150,000 euros received from the bank; the second, on May 31, 2020: 32,000 euros) made by Renan’s mother, the teenager was released on June 1, just after midnight, near his parents’ new home.

An hour later, the Special Units of the federal police arrived on the scene and managed to arrest the first two perpetrators, including Khalid Bouloudo and others during the night. The next day, at 10:00 AM, seven of the eight accused were placed in detention. None of them explained what they intended to do with the money. Finance terrorism? Five of them "gravitated" in the "Maaseik group," which was still active in 2020.

Khalid Bouloudo is among them. Considered the main accused, he had been convicted in 2004 as part of the trial of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM), responsible for the March 11, 2004 attacks in Madrid, as well as in 2019 in connection with a network sending fighters to Syria.

The profile of the victim’s relatives raises questions. Renan’s father, as well as one of his brothers, have been convicted in the past for large-scale cocaine trafficking. The father had been convicted in 2010, 2012, 2019, and 2021. He had notably told the police that he thought "Nordin from Dubai" or the Namoussi brothers – cocaine barons – could be behind the kidnapping. Except that the first, Nordin El Hajjioui, was extradited from Dubai in March 2024. As for the second, Mounir Namoussi, he was arrested in Colombia last February. The Limburg prosecutor’s office hopes for his extradition to Belgium.

Bouloudo and seven other co-defendants are appearing for the kidnapping of young Renan before the Limburg Court of Assizes starting this Tuesday. Three of them – the Laktit brothers – will also be tried for another detention – a 37-year-old man kidnapped in Anderlecht in February 2020 – discovered during the investigation. These assizes will last four weeks.