Mark P. and Corrie V. from Tilburg ‘just’ did their job and that is the end of it as far as they are concerned. But according to the judiciary, the duo knew full well that the boilers, cooling machines and drip trays they made were intended for large-scale production of synthetic drugs such as ecstasy.
P. (48) and V. (60) have known each other for years as exceptionally handy Tilburgers: Mark has his own metalworking company and Corrie has been a welder all his life. They sometimes help each other with chores. If one needs something, the other will help.
This has also been the case in recent years, when Mark regularly has assignments for Corrie. Cooling machines, steam boilers, drip trays and racks: he has to make those. However, they are found time and again in drug labs and storage locations. Bemelen, Vorstenbosch and Zundert, these are just a few of the seven places in total where the police conduct raids and find the devices.
brine
But did the two know about those criminal intent? And what role did they play in that? These are central questions that the court must consider in this extensive drug case. The builders are the first of eight suspects to appear in these two weeks.
The Tilburgers pretend that they knew nothing about it. “You can also place drip trays under barrels full of brine,” says Corrie. And the coolers? According to him, these are ordinary heat exchangers such as those used by restaurants.
Crime Anonymous
Justice does not agree with that. The case came to light in May 2019 after a report to Crime Anonymous. Mark P. would deal in drugs and use an encrypted phone. The detectives will not have been surprised: Mark was sentenced to a year in prison at the beginning of 2020, because in 2016 he made devices for drug production.
Wiretaps, cameras, listening and tracking equipment give the police a goldmine of information. During contacts with other suspects in this case, detectives listen and watch. From a large ecstasy transport to Africa to a crystal meth lab in Gelderland: major drug plans are discussed.
Tens of thousands of euros
Mark P. would be the main pivot as a supplier of stuff. A Mexican drug cartel, Belgians and Limburgers visit him. Corrie V. would make the stuff himself as a handy welder. In exchange, the men would ask tens of thousands of euros, according to the 20,000-page file.
In court, the two do not want to say much about it. The word ‘right to remain silent’ comes 106 times, especially from the mouth of Mark P. Although at the end he says: “In my eyes I have only worked.” And he would have ended up on the wrong track ‘because of the drink’.
drug lab
Corrie V. says he is not aware of any harm. When he is asked more often about repair work on drip trays he made in Limburg, he states that he has not seen a drug lab, which is later found there. “It’s hard to remember what I did yesterday.”
Justice will come with the sentences on Friday.
ALSO READ:
Boiler builder from Tilburg pivotal in national network: police intercept very valuable machines
Tilburg boiler builder ran into trouble with his ‘guillotine shears’
Tilburg drug boilers discovered in at least five places in Brabant and Limburg