The man, kept anonymous by the authorities, had disappeared without continuing the journey with his migrant community. After a few days, three people showed up at the national lottery offices with the winning ticket.
Because they did not match the identity kit that had been made for the winner, the three were arrested
. The man then went to the police station with a lawyer and told the police his story: he tried to circumvent the rules by asking some friends to collect the prize for him. At this point, the three have been released, but the issue remains.
“We are trying to get your documents from Algeria”
, his lawyer told the France Press news agency. In the meantime, the ticket is kept in the Bruges court of law near the port of Zeebrugge where it was purchased. The man had left his home country four months earlier, arriving in Spain by boat and then trekking through the Iberian country and France to Belgium. From there the goal was to get to Great Britain. But now he hopes to get his winnings and start a new life in Belgium: “If I have the money, I’ll buy a house to live in Brussels. And maybe a car,” he told the Belgian newspaper “Het Laatste Nieuws”.
