Wesley N. (27) had 20,000 euros to spare for the murder of a Sittarden resident, with whom he had a drug dispute. That is what the prosecution thinks it can prove. He was only looking for someone who could carry out the liquidation.

This is according to information from L1. Wesley will appear in court for the first time on Jan. 26.

Criminal practices

He is currently suspected of preparing an assassination attempt and laundering 80,000 euros. He allegedly earned that money through criminal activity. Part of that amount, 20,000 euros, he wanted to spend, according to the justice department, on the liquidation of someone with whom he had problems within the drug environment.

Secret conversations

To date, the Sittard suspect has remained silent to police. Nevertheless, the Justice Department believes it has enough in hand to prosecute Wesley. He would have frequently discussed liquidation plans via the encrypted chat service EncroChat. When the investigative services managed to crack EncroChat, they said they were given access to Wesley's secret messages.

Justice links him to a certain EncroChat alias. That alias chatted about the amount for the liquidation, as well as the possession of a weapon and the search for a hitman. Attorney Francoise Landerloo, who is assisting Wesley, would not comment on this story.

No declaration

A second suspect will appear in court on March 9. This 36-year-old man allegedly offered Wesley his help in the search for a hitman. His lawyer Wouter Smeets would not comment. Incidentally, the intended victim in the case did not, or barely, speak to police and did not file a police report.