According to the public prosecutor, three men from Hoogeveen laundered money at the end of 2019 that may have been the loot of a home burglary in Dwingeloo. The prosecutors demanded two and six months in prison against the 33- and 31-year-old suspects. The third suspect (59) should be sentenced to eighty hours of community service.
Nearly four thousand euros was stolen from a safe during the house burglary in November 2019. The thieves apparently knew about the contents of the safe and acted purposefully. The house was not searched further. Shortly after the break-in, the names of these suspects trickled in to the police. A financial investigation was subsequently launched.
Administration and debts
The police noticed that almost immediately after the burglary, these three bought cars, scooters, new household goods and expensive clothing. It was also striking that the three had no income or lived on benefits. They were under administration and in debt. During the interrogation they said that this money came from an inheritance or it was a gift from the family. According to the public prosecutor, there was no substantiation and she found this implausible.
However, there is also no evidence that these suspects cracked the safe in Dwingeloo. The prosecutor accuses them of laundering money ‘originating from a crime’. The youngest suspect was also on trial for the recovery of two welding machines. The van in which he drove through Hoogeveen with the 33-year-old suspect on February 26, 2020, was pulled over during a traffic control. The police saw the two stolen devices in the cargo box.
Bought from an unknown
The 31-year-old Hoogevener had just bought it, he told the police. He wouldn’t say whose. According to the complainant, the theft cannot be proven, but the stolen goods can. The youngest was also on trial for the destruction of two car tires in Hoogeveen and a serious assault in Geesbrug. The victim broke his jaw in several places. This suspect did not appear for court. He only confessed to the assault to the police.
The court will rule in two weeks.