Boxer Lee Ingelrest gets three years' suspended jail sentence for drug trafficking
Posted: 19 Nov 2025, 08:46
Boxer Lee Ingelrest gets three years' suspended jail sentence for drug trafficking
A Belgian boxing champion has received a three-year suspended jail sentence and £25,000 fine after being convicted of drug trafficking offences.
Lee Ingelrest, 26, was sentenced by the court in Ghent, in Belgium, on November 13 after he was found guilty of importing, selling and possessing drugs.
Ingelrest was stopped by police in October 2023 when officers boxed in his Audi A6 as he returned from the Netherlands.
Police found a knuckleduster and 1kg of mephedrone, a popular designer drug, hidden in cat litter in the vehicle. He spent a short period in custody and was then released with an ankle monitor.
Investigators then discovered that he had also run a small drugs operation involving his younger brother and he admitted that he had also dealt cocaine, according to reports.
Ingelrest’s attorney, Thomas Gillis, explained that his boxing career suddenly came to a halt during Covid because no matches were taking place.
He said: “He then made a big mistake, with enormous consequences. He lost his job as a dockworker because of it. But he seized the opportunity given to him by the justice system with both hands.”
The prosecutor demanded community service for Ingelrest and his brother.
But the judge felt community service was not appropriate and on Thursday sentenced him to three years in prison with probationary suspension and ordered him to repay €30,000 (£26,452) plus a €8,000 (£7,054) fine.
He must comply with strict conditions for five years, including regular urine tests. He also received a five-year ban from entering any ports and his Audi A6 was confiscated.
His brother received an unspecified probation sentence.
A Belgian boxing champion has received a three-year suspended jail sentence and £25,000 fine after being convicted of drug trafficking offences.
Lee Ingelrest, 26, was sentenced by the court in Ghent, in Belgium, on November 13 after he was found guilty of importing, selling and possessing drugs.
Ingelrest was stopped by police in October 2023 when officers boxed in his Audi A6 as he returned from the Netherlands.
Police found a knuckleduster and 1kg of mephedrone, a popular designer drug, hidden in cat litter in the vehicle. He spent a short period in custody and was then released with an ankle monitor.
Investigators then discovered that he had also run a small drugs operation involving his younger brother and he admitted that he had also dealt cocaine, according to reports.
Ingelrest’s attorney, Thomas Gillis, explained that his boxing career suddenly came to a halt during Covid because no matches were taking place.
He said: “He then made a big mistake, with enormous consequences. He lost his job as a dockworker because of it. But he seized the opportunity given to him by the justice system with both hands.”
The prosecutor demanded community service for Ingelrest and his brother.
But the judge felt community service was not appropriate and on Thursday sentenced him to three years in prison with probationary suspension and ordered him to repay €30,000 (£26,452) plus a €8,000 (£7,054) fine.
He must comply with strict conditions for five years, including regular urine tests. He also received a five-year ban from entering any ports and his Audi A6 was confiscated.
His brother received an unspecified probation sentence.