On Thursday, the court in Den Bosch imposed a 3.5-year prison sentence on a 38-year-old funeral director from Hoogvliet who drove a hearse with 675 kilos of chemicals for the production of (meth)amphetamine. At the end of February, the Public Prosecution Service demanded a six-year prison sentence against the man.
Close to the ground
The police took the suspect’s hearse off the road near Beugen on May 7, 2023 when it turned out that the car was hanging very low to the ground. There was no box in the loading space, but there were 27 boxes filled with 675 kilos of BMK for the production of (meth)amphetamine.
Burned down drug lab
In a building in Rotterdam that the suspect rented, the police found a half-burned drug lab with barrels, stoves and cooking pans. Camera images and chat conversations show, among other things, that the suspect has been involved in the production of hard drugs since the end of April 2023. The man also traded MDMA, cocaine and methamphetamine together with others.
Co-driver seriously injured
The case against a co-suspect, who was also a co-driver in the hearse, will come to trial later. When checking the hearse near Beugen, officers saw that the passenger had seriously injured his legs. This was caused by the fire in the drug lab in Rotterdam.
When determining the sentence, the court takes into account that the funeral director from Hoogvliet has previously been convicted for a similar drug offense. Even then he used his funeral home as a cover.
The court: ‘A company in that sector must treat deceased persons and their relatives with the utmost respect and care. The suspect did not do this. He showed no respect for the deceased and treated the feelings of relatives with disrespect. For example, the drug lab was in the same building where he received relatives to say goodbye to their loved ones.’
No professional ban
In addition to the six-year prison sentence, the public prosecutor demanded that the suspect not be allowed to work in the funeral sector for eleven years. The court calls this a ‘very understandable request’, but says it cannot impose such a professional ban because the Opium Act does not offer this option.
