The Bruges criminal court sentenced a 44-year-old mother from Blankenberge to 250 hours of community service and her 21-year-old son to 150 hours for drug dealing.[1][2] The court sentenced the mother’s 33-year-old former partner to two years of effective imprisonment in his absence for the same case.[1][2] The son told the court his mother had little part in the dealing, and both defendants present had sought community-service orders.[1]

The mother and son first appeared as customers in another drug investigation, after which telephone analysis indicated they sold drugs themselves alongside the mother’s then partner.[1] A house search on 5 February 2024 found 20 grams of cannabis, a leftover amount of speed and drug paraphernalia.[1][2] Prosecutors said the son had traded about 100 grams of cannabis per week since September 2023, and that the group had sold cannabis, cocaine and speed since November 2021.[1] The prosecution had sought three-year effective prison terms for the mother and her former partner with forfeiture, and ten months for the son’s share in the cannabis trade.[1]

The mother’s lawyer sought acquittal on cocaine dealing and said she mainly ran errands for her then partner and son, while the son’s lawyer pointed to the bad example he received as a teenager from his then stepfather.[1] The former partner did not appear at the hearing and had no lawyer, and the court declared a total of 7,800 euros forfeited.[1] The court followed the defence request in part on Monday morning, imposing the two community-service orders and the prison term.[1]