Drug Kingpin Orchestrates Empire from Prison Cell: Assassination Plot Unravels in Brussels

"From prison, most of the leaders of criminal organizations active in drug trafficking continue their activities because they have mobile phones," said the Brussels King’s Prosecutor, Julien Moinil, at a press conference on Tuesday, stressing the existence of links between these criminals and gangs abroad, particularly in France. The prosecutor also announced that he would meet his Marseille counterpart in September.

Imad B., nicknamed Imad Marrakech, a 30-year-old Moroccan, is part of this category of criminals. Convicted on December 1, 2022 to eight years in prison and a fine of 80,000 euros as the baron of an organization specialized in the trafficking of cocaine and cannabis in the Peterbos district of Anderlecht, he would have continued his illicit activities from his cell and tried to take control of other drug dealing points. Imad B. is accused of having ordered the assassination of a 31-year-old man, riddled with bullets in the Wayez street in Anderlecht on September 14, 2023, from his cell.

The investigators had favored the theory of a settling of scores. But they later discovered that the perpetrators of this crime had mistaken their target. In total, 30 people, including Imad B., had been convicted on December 1, 2022 as part of this case called "Peterbos II". The investigation had revealed that Imad had teamed up with a Marseille drug trafficker, Mohamed Djeha, to sell drugs in the Peterbos district. Three Marseillais, Vianney, Mérou and Archad, had been sent there as part of this collaboration.

Thanks to this partnership with the Marseillais, Imad B. had managed to take full control of the drug trafficking in Peterbos. His daily turnover had been estimated at 29,500 euros. The profits from the cocaine sales between June 2020 and April 2022 had reached more than 11.1 million euros, according to the investigators. He traveled in luxury vehicles to supervise his trafficking. Under a European and international warrant, he was arrested in Barcelona in December 2021, as he was about to board a flight to Dubai.