Police officers intercepted messages for two years after they were able to hack into the encrypted phone service Sky ECC.
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00:00A Belgian court sentenced over 100 people for drug-related crimes in the country's biggest
00:07drug trial.
00:09The defendants were part of a major criminal network which operated as far as South America
00:13and Morocco.
00:17The criminals were exposed after police hacked into phone service Sky ECC and intercepted
00:22messages for two years.
00:27The case shines light on Belgium's drug problem, with Antwerp's port being a main European
00:32gateway for the smuggling of cocaine.
00:48A total of 129 defendants were accused of being part of several drug gangs that were
00:54behind the large-scale import of cannabis and cocaine into Europe.
00:59Key gang members received sentences ranging from seven to 17 years in prison, whereas
01:04other defendants received sentences ranging from 14 months to 15 years.
01:11The sentences depended on the severity of the crime.
01:14Besides drug trafficking, defendants were also punished for their involvement in violence,
01:19extortion and kidnapping.