A Dutch appeals court has sentenced a 44-year-old man to seven years in prison for his involvement in cyber intrusions targeting major European ports and for using those breaches to support drug trafficking operations.
The ruling was issued by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, which reviewed a case that began with the man’s arrest in 2021. He was initially convicted a year later by the Amsterdam District Court on multiple charges, including illegal access to computer systems, attempted extortion, and assisting in the import of narcotics. Following that decision, the defendant challenged the verdict, arguing that key evidence used against him had been obtained unlawfully.
At the center of the appeal was the use of messages collected from Sky ECC, an encrypted communication platform. Law enforcement agencies in Europe gained access to the service in 2021 as part of a coordinated investigation into organized crime. That operation led to the arrest of the platform’s leadership and numerous users, with legal proceedings continuing into the following years. The defense claimed that the interception of these communications violated procedural safeguards and undermined the fairness of the trial.
The appeals court rejected those objections, stating that the defense failed to demonstrate how the collection of Sky ECC messages breached the defendant’s legal rights. As a result, most of the original findings were upheld.
However, the court did overturn one charge related to a
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