A Belgian criminal court ended proceedings against Dutch drug criminal John H. and the other defendants in a major drug case, ruling that the trial had taken too long. Reports differ on the number affected, with most saying 31 suspects in total and one saying 32. The alleged offences dated back about 10 years, and one report said the case file had gone unworked on for unexplained periods totalling more than five years; the court found neither exceptional complexity nor delays caused by the suspects.

Prosecutors had sought prison terms totalling more than 160 years, including 18 years for H., and confiscation of €14 million. They alleged that H. and another man led an organisation that traded chemicals for synthetic-drug production through a soap factory in Lommel and also trafficked cocaine. The federal prosecutor is appealing, according to one report.