On Tuesday, the Public Prosecution Service demanded twelve years in prison against a 31-year-old man from Wijk bij Duurstede on suspicion of wholesale hard drugs. The suspect is also said to have acted on police information and to have had two firearms in his possession.
(Image from archive)
According to the judiciary, the evidence includes encrypted messages and photos that were sent via PGP telephones and messaging service Encrochat. This shows, according to the Public Prosecution Service, that in 2020 the man traded in large quantities of hard drugs from Wijk bij Duurstede and Maarn. According to the judiciary, it concerns at least 90 kilos of cocaine and 10 kilos of methamphetamine. The public prosecutor: ‘This file concerns hard drug wholesale in the broadest sense of the word, from raw materials and production to import plans and actual export, on land, at sea and in the air.’
Police systems
In addition, in the opinion of the Public Prosecution Service, the suspect acted in police information. Via the same encrypted messages, buyers could have a license plate or name checked in police systems via the suspect. This would actually have happened in at least eight cases.
Liquidation attempt
The file shows that the sold police information in at least one case also led to a liquidation attempt. ‘The suspect knows about the context, the suspect knows about the excessive violence that is used in that context, not only against enemies, but also against their family, and yet he provides the information,’ said the public prosecutor. “In retrospect, the suspect seems to be proud of the fact that he provided the information.”
‘Calculated criminal’
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the suspect is a calculated criminal. ‘Considering the use of constantly changing PGP telephones and encrypted messenger services, the regular sweeping of his car and the secondary trade in furniture with hidden spaces. This is also apparent from the fact that the suspect had two firearms at home.’
The Public Prosecution Service demands twelve years in prison for both the trade in drugs and police information, and the possession of weapons.
Confiscation
During the search, a large amount of luxury goods were found in the home and business of the suspect, as well as cash amounts. The Public Prosecution Service has demanded forfeiture of this. According to the Public Prosecution Service, two cars were also bought with criminal money and should therefore be confiscated.
If the court reaches a conviction, the judiciary will reclaim the profit made by the suspect through criminal activities through confiscation proceedings.
