In the case against the six suspects who, according to the judiciary, were involved in the more than 7,700 kilos of cocaine that was found among the bananas in Antwerp on October 15 last year, three have chosen to agree to trial agreements made by the Public Prosecution Service and the lawyers. Three other suspects want to continue the case. The suspects who made the trial agreements were all sentenced to five years in prison by the Rotterdam court last week.
Shed
After Antwerp customs found and seized the cocaine, the Dutch police became involved in the case. The shipment was addressed to a fruit company in North Brabant. A Belgian-Dutch police team kept an eye on the container – containing only 15 grams of cocaine – and found that a truck was transporting the container to a Finnish company on an industrial estate in Bleiswijk. Apparently the cocaine had to be unloaded in a warehouse there.
A Polish driver and five others were arrested red-handed by the police there.
Immediate verdict
The aim of procedural agreements is to relieve the burden on the criminal justice chain. Because the suspects do not put up a defense and do not appeal, a lot of courtroom time can be saved in extensive criminal cases. The advantage for suspects is that sentences can be much lower. However, despite the agreements, the court may decide to make a different judgment.
In the case of the 7,700 kilos of cocaine, the driver and two others did not want to make a trial appointment, while three others did. According to lawyer Cem Polat, who was involved with one of the three suspects who did reach an agreement, the court passed a judgment on Wednesday almost immediately after submitting the documents with the agreements and did not wait, as usual, for the entire process to be completed. case.
Herman Brood
Trial agreements are becoming increasingly common, especially in complex drug cases where the court’s investigation can take a very long time. On Tuesday it was announced that the Northern Netherlands court had agreed to agreements in an extensive cocaine case.
On Tuesday, the court in Amsterdam canceled the trial agreement that had been made with the suspect in another cocaine case. The 52-year-old MH is on trial on suspicion of trafficking (among other things) 130 kilos of cocaine and laundering 437,500 euros and many luxury goods, including expensive clothing, watches, shoes and a painting by Herman Brood.
In this case, the court is of the opinion that the Public Prosecution Service must consider the required sentence and the agreements made regarding the return of the stock of luxury goods that were seized. The court has not yet handed down a verdict, the investigation into this case is still continuing.
