33-year-old lawyer Sahil Malik was arrested in March 2021 during the first major wave of arrests under Operation Sky ECC. During the investigation, it was discovered that the lawyer was participating in chat groups of drug criminals through a Sky ECC cryptophone.

According to foreign media, the rising star in the legal profession, the resourceful boy from the south of Antwerp who defended pickpockets, thieves, teenage pimps, but especially many, many drug dealers, turned out to be just ‘one of them’ .

Sahil Malik used the alias “Sher” on the Sky ECC system. For days, Belgian investigators were able to read conversations between criminals and drug traffickers about how they smuggled cocaine into the port of Antwerp. On May 2, 2020, an Albanian gangster asked “Sher”, as we read in “Het Nieuësblad”, if he could find out what had happened to a shipment of cocaine that had been seized at quay 1742. Sher replied that he had asked a pensioner, whose wife still worked at the port.  He could also give contacts to the Albanian. In other conversations he says he had contacts at customs who could check whether the containers were selected for the scanner or not.

On September 18, after winning a trial, “Sher” said: “The whole file is in the trash.” I hope your friends will be correct and come with a big sports bag.”

Malik initially denied that he was hiding behind the alias ‘Sher’, but after his arrest he made partial confessions. “I understand I’m in trouble,” he allegedly told the investigating judge.

Malik is now no longer allowed to practice as a lawyer. “When he read the conversations, he realized he was not worthy of the platoon,” the judge said.

He was sentenced on Tuesday to five years in prison, of which 20 months were suspended, for membership of a criminal organization and money laundering. The court declared 161 thousand euros confiscated. He still has time to appeal the decision.