CDA treasurer Wim van der P. from Leende has to go to jail for a year for involvement in drug production in a barn on his farm. The court in Den Bosch determined this on Friday. The judge imposed the same sentence. Justice wanted more and appealed.
In February 2017, the police found a large-scale drug lab in a warehouse owned by 56-year-old Van der P. According to the treasurer, he rented out the warehouse to an unknown person. The police soon established that it was a ‘million dollar production’.
Van der P. still denies all involvement. The judge previously concluded that he knew about it, but did not help with the drug production. The court rules the same. Justice attributed a bigger role to him than just complicity.
Complicit
According to the court, “nothing has shown that the man was present in the lab or that he produced MDMA and amphetamine on his own.” The court does state that Van der P. was complicit in drug production.
“It cannot be otherwise than that the man knew that what happened in his shed could not bear the light of day,” concludes the court judge. “There was also no lease and the man never wanted to substantiate a shadowy rental construction.”
The court imposed a fourteen-month prison sentence on Van der P. in the judgment. However, due to the long duration of the appeal, there are still two months to go.
Daily turnover of ten million
On February 23, 2017, the police went to the farmyard on the Hoogeindseweg, looking for a cannabis nursery. That nursery was found, but there was much more. A large laboratory turned out to be hidden in a warehouse, the largest drug factory ever discovered in the Netherlands.
The factory had a daily turnover of ten million euros. Van der P. was arrested together with his wife and son. His family was soon released. Van der P. was in pre-trial detention for two months. His grounds were closed by the mayor for six months, including the family home.
Effects
The court therefore took into account in its previous judgment that Van der P. ‘himself was affected by the consequences of the offences’. In addition to the closed house, he had to give up his activities in association life and for the CDA.
The discovery of the drug lab last year also had major consequences for carnival association De Lolmakers. They were busy working on their carnival wagon in a construction tent next to the drug lab. The builders had to get off the site and their carnival fell into the water.
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