It must have been a bizarre discovery when the doors of a shed near Steenbergen slid open: ten Colombian men showed up. They lived there ‘under appalling conditions’. And they processed cocaine. So many people in a dangerous drug lab, which is also quite special in Brabant.
It was at the end of March when officials of the customs authorities and boas of the municipality of Steenbergen carried out an inspection. They looked at a shed on the Boonhil. There they did not find seasonal workers from Romania or Bulgaria, but men with names such as Eric, José and William from Colombia. They were between 27 and 67 years old.
Their cradle was in Cali, the city of the infamous cartel. And now they had ended up in the polder between Steenbergen and Kruisland. Surrounded by drugs and chemicals. The officers found 66 kilos of cocaine in the shed. With a street value that can easily run into millions of euros. Especially if you export it.
“He only cooked in the caravan.”
Inside the shed were a gypsy wagon and some tents. The people lived there under ‘deplorable conditions’, said one of their lawyers on Thursday at the first public trial in Breda about the discovery of the lab.
What were they doing there? Most men have been silent until now. One wanted to lose something. Eric E.’s lawyer, 27, said that the man was there to make food. “He only cooked in the caravan,” she explained.
The Colombian did not comment on the allegations. He did say sobbing how much he misses his family. “I always get emotional when it comes to my wife and daughter.”
Suspect William R. (42) said he normally works in a gold mine in Colombia, with his 78-year-old father and his brothers. And that he went on vacation and then rolled into this. “I don’t know how I got involved in this problem.” Also with him, tears.
Another suspect apparently gave the impression in the police interrogations that they were forced to come and work here. That the door was locked on the outside and the family at home was threatened. One of the interpreters used the word ‘exploitation’ to the judges. Modern slavery actually.
“I don’t think these are the big men.”
The public prosecutor heard that too, but does not know whether this can be proven. So there are more questions unanswered. How and especially in which the cocaine was smuggled to Steenbergen is unknown.
It was a hefty catch, given the number of suspects. But the prosecutors put their arrest in a bit of perspective. “I don’t think these are the big men.” The officer said it’s complicated to catch the real bosses. It is still being investigated. For example, the police would like to question the tenant.
In the meantime, more research is underway, into DNA traces for example. Unfortunately with considerable delay, due to capacity problems and logistical problems, the public prosecutor acknowledged.
The officer resisted all requests for release, mainly because of the danger of flight. Because they are ‘on the other side of the ocean’. The court has yet to decide. Whether they are allowed to leave the cell will be announced on Friday. Another interim session is scheduled for early October.
More South American coke labs have been found in recent years, such as in Lepelstraat and St Willebrord. The crystalmethboot in Moerdijk was the best known.
The men were found in this shed at the end of March.
Waiting for privacy settings…
ALSO READ: Mathijs was shocked: ‘I knew nothing about the drug lab in my warehouse’