Customer's annoyance with drug ads leads to Albanian dealer's arrest and 20-month sentence

A 24-year-old Albanian drug courier has been sentenced to 20 months in prison and fined 10,000 euros by the Tongeren court. The conviction followed an unusual tip from a customer who was tired of receiving persistent promotional messages for illegal drugs.

The customer contacted the police in early April, explaining that he ordered drugs by phone and was constantly receiving promotional texts from the supplier. Annoyed by the constant advertising, the customer offered to arrange a cocaine purchase so police could apprehend the dealer. "He told the police he had ordered for 1000 euros and that his drugs would be delivered that day," the prosecutor stated during the court hearing.

Agents were waiting when the Albanian arrived in a rental car a few hours after the order was placed. He was immediately arrested, and police found 88 one-gram packages of cocaine in his vehicle. The man remained largely silent during his interrogation and in court, claiming he was recruited via TikTok by unknown individuals promising quick money for drug delivery.

Investigators examining the suspect's phone discovered he had been distributing drugs in the Limburg and Liège regions for approximately three weeks. The public prosecutor argued this indicated he was working for an international organization. Given the suspect has no fixed address in Belgium, the court deemed there was a flight risk and ordered him to serve his sentence in Hasselt prison, where he has been held since his arrest.