55-year-old ironmonger Willem B. will probably go to prison for 32 months for his role in the coke smuggling gang from Emmen that was busted in 2021. The Emmen resident has agreed on this punishment with the Public Prosecution Service.
This became apparent at a hearing in the court in Assen on Friday. Seven of the eight suspected members of the cocaine gang have made trial agreements with the Public Prosecution Service, which also sets out the amount of the sentence. According to the Public Prosecution Service, B. was the leader and financier of the organization that was involved in the import of coke from South America. “Without trial agreements, the sentence for him would have been 51 months.”
Emmen resident Jannes O. (31) is qualified as B’s right-hand man. He has agreed to a prison sentence of 30 months. Both men would like to serve their prison sentences in Veenhuizen, so that family does not have to travel as far to visit. The Public Prosecution Service has promised to make every effort to arrange placement for them in the Drenthe prison. Jannes O. had even taken his weekend bag with clothes to the trial. He would like to serve his sentence as quickly as possible. “Then I’m done with it,” he said.
Other suspects
But O. will at least have to wait for the court’s verdict early next month. Formally, the judges can deviate from the procedural agreements between the Public Prosecution Service and the suspects. The chance of that happening is small, the chairman of the court hinted. Sentences of between 15 and 36 months have been agreed with the other suspects, including Emmenaar Hendrik W. (55). The highest sentence is for a 57-year-old man from Utrecht who was previously convicted for drug offences. The other suspects come from The Hague (49), Amsterdam (49) and Hilversum (40).
The officer: “The criminal organization came up with various ways to get the cocaine from South America to the Netherlands. The drugs were hidden in bags of salt. Preparations were also made to bring drugs hidden in bins of scrap iron and metal to the Netherlands. A quantity of cocaine hidden in bags of salt, with a street value of more than three million euros, was intercepted by Brazilian customs in 2019.
Second smuggling plan was never executed
Due to police intervention, the second smuggling plan was never carried out. The organization was discovered by chance through tapped conversations in the business premises of ironmonger Willem B. Eavesdropping equipment had been placed in that building as part of the investigation into the trunk murder. None of the men have been identified as suspects in the murder of Ralf Meinema from Klazienaveen, the officer emphasized.
Although Jannes O. and Willem B. have agreed to a decent prison sentence, their lawyers said that they believe that their role in the whole has been made too great. Their share, they argue, is much smaller than stated. B. also said that he finds it very annoying that his 25-year-old son has been identified as a suspect. “He has nothing to do with it at all.” The son is the only one of the eight suspects who has not made trial arrangements. His case will be heard on Tuesday.
The court will rule on all suspects on April 2.
Importance of process agreements
In recent years, it has become more common for suspects and the Public Prosecution Service to make trial agreements, which means that a detailed substantive hearing in court is no longer necessary. The interest of suspects lies in the lower sentence and for the Public Prosecution Service in being able to definitively conclude an extensive criminal case. As a result, released court time can be used for other criminal cases. This certainly applies to proceedings at the court of appeal, because part of the agreement is that there will be no appeal if the court does not deviate much from the agreed sentence.