Drugs and phones on demand. A challenge in itself, but especially when you’re in prison. Yet it turned out not to be difficult for a number of criminals to obtain those items. They were sent by airmail.
Last week, three men were arrested on suspicion of delivering unwanted packages to people in prison using drones. ‘Participation in a criminal organization’, is the official accusation. The suspects would deliver the drugs and telephones to various prisons, including the prison in Veenhuizen.
The case came to light after the police received information that items would be delivered to order via drones to detainees stuck in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Investigation by the police showed that from 2021 onwards, a drone has been flown several times near the prisons in Lelystad, Veenhuizen and Zaandam. The drone is also said to have been used abroad to deliver drugs and telephones to prisoners.
Many of these drops came to nothing because the prison guards paid attention and saw the drone before it could be delivered. Yet the suspects managed to successfully deliver items. They even managed to deliver a telephone in such a targeted manner that a prisoner could reach it through the window of his cell. The airmail ‘suppliers’ would be paid well for their service.
The three suspects who organized the drone flights are from Amsterdam, Schiedam and Rijsenhout. Police found drones and drone parts in their homes, and drugs were also found. This has all been confiscated. Two suspects, aged 25 and 32, will be arraigned today.