Murat Yildirim worked for the US Embassy and for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for almost twenty years. From 2005 in Turkey and since 2017 in the Netherlands. Until the Dutchman with Turkish roots started asking questions. Does the DEA actually have permission from the Netherlands to employ and pay informants here? And what does that show?
“Then it became annoying,” says Yildirim (46). “First the country attache that there was a green light from the Public Prosecution Service, but when I asked questions it became more aggressive and I was told to keep my mouth shut: ‘These are matters above you pay grade’.”
He will face his former employer in court on Thursday. He against the Americans because he had been used for years – without a correct legal basis and in violation of Dutch regulations – for dangerous investigative activities, including ‘running’ informants and undercover work.
I had to hand over a sports bag containing 200,000 euros to criminals for a money laundering case in Scandinavia
Yildirim, states that his position deteriorated after he raised questions about these practices and that he was wrongfully deprived of allowances. His employment would also have been terminated without the required Dutch procedures. He demands financial compensation for this.
During his years at the American embassy, Yildirim had to interrogate informants, for example about those involved in drug crime, drug transports and production locations. If informants provided useful information, they were rewarded. During his years at the DEA, “millions in cash” flowed through his hands: tip money, but also money used in undercover operations. “For example, I had to hand over a sports bag containing 200,000 euros to criminals for a money laundering case in Scandinavia.”
Murat Yildirim states that he has been used for dangerous investigation activities for years without a correct legal basis and in violation of Dutch regulations.
Photo Bart Maat
Cocaine use
Revealed earlier this month NRC after investigating how the DEA in the Netherlands engaged Dutch informant Martin T. and paid him a total of around 50,000 euros. There was no indication that the Public Prosecution Service had given permission for this. The Americans did not care about T.’s safety. The informant, who had a drug problem and used his tip money for this purpose, died at the end of 2021 after excessive cocaine use. Yildirim does not want to comment on specific matters. “I can say that the picture that emerges from the NRC research is recognizable.”
In the past, the anti-drug organization DEA has often received negative press because it has overstepped its bounds abroad. The DEA was founded to enforce U.S. drug laws, but it also has departments in more than sixty other countries. These are formally intended for international cooperation in the fight against drug crime. The service appeared to be conducting investigations on its own in several countries. In the Netherlands, this led to a diplomatic row in 2004 when it emerged that the ‘Black Cobra’ Henk R. was encouraged to smuggle drugs by the DEA with the help of a Dutch infiltrator.
According to Yildirim, the improvement that the Americans promised at the time did not materialize sufficiently. He states that the Americans are still “structurally and deliberately” carrying out investigative actions in the Netherlands without permission from the Public Prosecution Service. ‘Running’ informants is an example of this.
How does he know that for sure? Despite insistence, Yildirim was never shown that permission had been given, for example to employ informants. “If you operate according to the rules, you can also demonstrate this in writing.”
Sovereignty
This did happen in other Yildirim activities. He points to the ‘Cocaine Signature Program’, for which the DEA worldwide samples collects seized cocaine consignments to map the global trade based on the ‘DNA’ of cocaine. “A Dutch public prosecutor granted permission for this and there was a written statement with the names of me and a colleague. It stated that we were entitled to collect those samples from customs and transport them.”
It is unique that a former employee of the DEA in the Netherlands is coming forward. However, Yildirim sees no other way to expose the abuse that the DEA is active in the Netherlands on its own. “Under the watchful eye of the embassy, the DEA structurally and deliberately violates Dutch sovereignty. This also undermines the Dutch rule of law.”
He previously knocked on the door of the House of Whistleblower. This suggested that wrongdoing was suspected based on his file. However, further investigation was not possible because it concerns a foreign power: it cannot be forced to cooperate. Yildirim is now pinning his hopes on politicians, who can, for example, call on the American ambassador to stop the illegal activities.
After being approached by NRC, the American embassy stated that it did not comment on ongoing legal proceedings. According to the Americans, documents submitted in Yildirim’s lawsuit show that investigations are not carried out in the Netherlands without permission and that Yildirim was not involved in such actions in the first place.
Yildirim is not impressed by that defense. “I can use apps and emails to prove what happened. Payment receipts for informants simply have my signature.” The former DEA employee showed various pieces of evidence to NRC. He emphasizes: “I am all for catching criminals, but within the rules of the law.”
Also read
How American drug fighters paid a Dutch criminal for a golden tip
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