Bombs and Grenades": The drug baron "Dikke Nordin" continues to paralyze the Antwerp justice system

Nordin E.H., aged 37, is accused of having led a sprawling criminal organization. According to the prosecution, his network extended its influence from Antwerp to Limburg, all the way to the Netherlands. The main activity was the massive importation of cocaine through the port of Antwerp. The group was not limited to drug trafficking: it stockpiled weapons to eliminate competition and carry out punitive expeditions as soon as their business was threatened.

The initial case included 51 defendants, but Nordin’s case, of Moroccan origin, was treated separately following his late extradition from the United Arab Emirates. His accomplices have already received sentences of up to twelve years in prison in November 2024. He continues to postpone the deadline. The trial has turned into a legal saga: absent due to illness in May, tried by default, then a series of procedural blockages. His lawyers have multiplied requests for recusal against the president of the chamber, all of which have been rejected by the court of appeal in August and last month.

The defense is now playing the card of excessive procedure. After the rejection of the second request for recusal, the lawyers filed an appeal to the Court of Cassation. This legal offensive ties the hands of the criminal court, forced to postpone the pronouncement of the judgment once again to January 13.