Brussels (Brussels Morning) – The German authorities have extradited drug trafficker Tom Michielsen to Belgium. Michielsen, a fugitive for years until he was arrested in Berlin in April this year 2024, still has to serve an eight-year prison sentence for drug smuggling.
What criminal charges does Tom Michielsen face in Belgium?
The criminal court of Antwerp sentenced Tom Michielsen to eight years in prison on December 8, 2023, for the import of hashish, opium and heroin via the port of Antwerp. The facts took place in 2021 and came to light through the chat application Sky ECC.
The Sky ECC messages showed that Tom Michielsen maintained contact with a customs officer called ‘Kurt from the scan’.
Who was involved in Tom Michielsen’s drug smuggling operation?
That customs officer is said to have ensured that a container from Pakistan, in which Michielsen’s drugs were allegedly hidden, could leave the port undisturbed. “Job done, I’ve stayed away from your box, but that will cost you something. We had some there, put a seal on it and arranged a receipt.”
‘Kurt from the scan’ shouted his innocence during the trial, although this made little impression on the court. The customs officer was sentenced to five years. Tom Michielsen, who was on the run at the time, failed to appear. The court sentenced him to eight years and ordered his immediate arrest. Michielsen has filed an objection against that conviction in absentia. He will therefore receive a new trial in Antwerp.
Tom Michielsen grew up in Hoevenen but mainly made a name for himself as a drug smuggler in the Netherlands. Michielsen was considered part of the entourage of the ‘Hague godfather’ Piet Schneider, alias Dikke Piet. In the major Taxus investigation into Piet Schneider’s criminal organization, Michielsen was sentenced to eight years in prison. That conviction is not yet final, because Michielsen has filed an appeal. In addition, Michielsen still has to serve part of an old Dutch sentence.
Tom Michielsen was on Europe‘s Most Wanted for a while, a list of the most wanted criminals in Europe. He lived in hiding in Spain, but there he narrowly escaped a large-scale police operation to arrest him. In April this year, the police were able to arrest him in a restaurant in Berlin.
Why did Tom Michielsen choose Berlin as his hideout?
The investigators had heard that Michielsen would meet with his brother. The investigators followed his brother from the Netherlands to Berlin. The Belgian drug boss’s accomplices had noticed the police observation teams and warned Michielsen. However, he was so looking forward to his brother’s visit that he decided to go ahead with the meeting. When he noticed that the police were watching him and his brother, he tried to flee. Ultimately, investigators were able to locate him again in a restaurant, where he had been eating quietly alone.
What is the background of Tom Michielsen’s criminal history?
Unlike most drug bosses, Tom Michielsen did not live in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai was not immediately an option for him, because in 2007 he was sentenced to ten years in prison in the Emirates for drug smuggling. He spent almost seven years in Sharjah prison. In addition, Michielsen adhered to the principle that a fugitive criminal should not be in places where other criminals are. Michielsen therefore chose Berlin, where he went through life as a businessman under an assumed name.
Both the Dutch and Belgian authorities had urged the Germans to surrender Tom Michielsen. The court in Germany ultimately chose to transfer Michielsen to his native country. The drug trafficker was taken from his cell on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday and transferred to Belgium by military helicopter. He was locked up in Dendermonde prison.
