The case dates from 2019, when two Dutch people were arrested on 1 March that year, together with a now 69-year-old farmer. The farmer is on trial this period, together with the wife of the couple from our country. After her arrest, the Dutch was released after a short time due to serious health reasons from prison, and was allowed to return to her motherland temporarily.
The male Dutchman had already been sentenced in 2021 to six years in prison. According to the Italian court, Herman V., now 75, would have been a professional drug courier, responsible for two huge parties imported cocaine, a total of 22 kilos. In just twenty days he delivered the parties of ten and twelve kilos to the farmer.
A third went off the prison sentence due to the accelerated procedure that was set. Herman V. did not cooperate with the researchers, but only let go that he had been recruited by one Max de B. He refused to give further information that could lead to the identification of this person.
After more than six years, his wife – of whom the name is not mentioned – and the 69 -year -old farmer from Monte Romano must now appear in court. The Italian denies involvement in drug trafficking. “I’m just a shepherd,” he said to court who deals with his case. “And I only speak Italian.”
The police found the kilos of cocaine in a room in the Dutch Ford C-Max that was intended for underfloor heating. © Italy Police
De Boer is originally from Sardinia, but has been living in Monte Romano, a municipality in Viterbo province, just above Rome for fifty years. For him, the accusation that he is part of an international drug trade network came to him as a thunderbolt in clear sky.
“I met the Dutch husband and wife for the first time at the police station,” said the suspect. His lawyer argued that the whole situation was based on one big misunderstanding. “An innocent man was swept in the buoys.”
‘Dutch drug dealer Wouter A. (42) arrested in Rome, walked around for years as a holiday maker with camera and tourist guide’
The couple were nevertheless arrested on the same path that the farmer travels every day, even several times a day, to reach the country where he holds his cattle. ,, At that time I had 400 sheep and went to the farm every morning and evening to milk them. Then I brought the milk to the refrigerators that I have in the village, because in the countryside I only have the generator for the milking machine, “he explained.
The Italian justice sees that very differently. The arrests were the result of a long investigation by Eurojust, the EU agency for judicial cooperation in criminal cases.
The drugs were hidden in bags that were found after thorough investigation. © Italy Police
That resulted on 1 March 2019 in the seizure of the cocaine, good for nearly 70,000 doses. The drugs were found in a Ford C-Max with Dutch license plate, containing the couple of in the seventies from the Netherlands. The contraband was intended to be delivered to the farmer, according to the Public Prosecution Service.
After searching the car, agents of the corps in Viterbo found twelve packages of cocaine in the Dutch car’s car, hidden in a specially designed space where there would be floor heating.
‘Dutchman (18) beaten in the buoys in a secret drug building in Italy, police kick in door’
Under the evidence is also a series of messages found on the seized mobile phones from the couple. These messages are written in Dutch.
According to investigators, large amounts of drugs departed from Spain and arrived in trucks full of fruit in the Netherlands. There, a transport company, which was involved in the sale and smuggling of narcotic drugs, would have resold the substances to people in different European countries in the same way.
The coke was delivered to the Italian farmer in several stages. © Italy Police
The Public Prosecution Service assumes that the couple was part of this criminal organization. The group is said to have recruited truck drivers and couriers in the Netherlands to transport the drugs.