The Court of Cassation in Belgium has rejected the cassation appeal of three alleged Italian mafiosi from Belgian Limburg in the Eureka investigation, into members of the Italian mafia clan 'ndrangheta. One of them has already been surrendered to Italy. The same fate threatens for five other suspects. That writes the Importance of Limburg .

Donato O. (35) has been the first of the six suspects in an Italian cell since Wednesday. The cassation appeals of his cousin Lucio Aquino (61) and Francesco S. (56) were also rejected. The same fate now threatens his brother Sebastiano S. (53), pizza baker Marcello N. (56) and his brother Giuseppe N. (49) from Genk. The Court of Cassation has yet to hear their case, but it is expected that sooner or later they too will be handed over to Italy, where a strict mafia regime awaits them.

Membership 'ndrangheta
The six alleged Belgian members of the Italian mafia clan 'ndrangheta are suspected of money laundering, tax evasion, drug smuggling and fraud. They allegedly imported large shipments of cocaine from Latin America to the port of Antwerp. Stopover was an Italian port. They are also suspected of setting up cocaine laundries and the import and export of hashish and weed.

Eureka
In the Italian and Belgian Eureka investigation, 147 alleged members of the 'ndrangheta were arrested on 3 May 2023 during raids in various European countries. Italy has since asked for the surrender of the six Belgian Limburgers.


Donato O. was the first to be handed over to Italy on Wednesday.

The same scenario threatens for the five other suspects, although Lucio Aquino may still have a catch. Aquino is in fact imprisoned in Hasselt in the extensive Belgian Costa investigation into large-scale international cocaine trade. It focuses on 62 suspects, including Bandidos member Geert F., the elderly former gendarme Willy Van Mechelen and the fugitive Dutch drug lord Bolle Jos.