A drug dealer has been sentenced to four years in prison after a staged photo showing him tortured to death failed to convince the Belgian authorities.

Gabriel C, known as ‘Lange Vingers’ (‘Sponge Fingers’), was sentenced to four years in prison and fined EUR 18,000 (GBP 16,193) on 18th November for attempting to collect a 113-kilogramme (249-lb) cocaine shipment at the Port of Antwerp in 2016.

Local media said he also has another five-year prison sentence pending for drug offences committed in 2015, and so faces up to nine years behind bars.

Gabriel C went missing around a year ago in fear for his life after an Albanian criminal gang targeted him for allegedly stealing a shipment of drugs.

The gang ended up attacking several houses and warehouses with AK-47s and hand grenades, according to reports.

The drug dealer ended up staging his own death twice. He first tried to make it appear as if he had drowned in a lake in The Gambia.

However, after his implausible effort failed to pay off, he resolved to fake his own death again, this time by releasing an unconvincing photo that tried to make it look like he had been tortured to death by his enemies.

In the photo, the word “thief” is carved on his chest in capital letters.

Gabriel C’s lawyer claimed his client was sorry for his actions and that his wife and three-year-old son had since taught him what “taking responsibility” meant.

This led the judge to reduce his sentence, which was originally five years, to four, in last month’s verdict.

The drug dealer’s immediate arrest has been ordered. It is unclear if he has since been arrested or why he has not been in prison until this point.

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