Members of a West Frisian drug family from Abbekerk have been sentenced to prison and community service. They delivered orders in the region for years, partly thanks to two elderly couriers, who were known in the drug circuit as ‘Grandpa’ and ‘Grandma’. A 51-year-old woman receives the highest sentence: she must spend a year in prison. Her husband was acquitted by the court.
According to the judiciary, MH (nicknamed ‘Woman’) is the brains and center of the drug trade. She faces the harshest prison sentence: 18 months in prison, of which six months are conditional. De Abbekerkse is said to have been deeply in debt due to a closed cannabis farm in 2006. Drug criminals allegedly blamed her for the ‘failed harvest’ – around 40,000 euros – and threatened her with violence.
Telephone exchange
To get out of debt, she served as a telephone switchboard for the criminal organization for years. “To protect my family, I did what they asked,” she told the judge. Yet the court sees it differently and assumes that she acted of her own accord.
H. is also accused of perpetuating drug crime and the violence that accompanies it. Her husband, 44-year-old RH from Abbekerk, is acquitted. The court sees insufficient evidence that he dealt in drugs or directed couriers.
‘Grandpa and Grandma’
79-year-old D. van der L. (‘Grandpa’) from Enkhuizen, who delivered the 70-year-old mother of the main suspect ‘Vrouwtje’, receives a conditional prison sentence of 184 days due to ‘his advanced age and physical and psychological condition’. 70-year-old C. van H. (‘Grandma’) from Abbekerk suffers from serious health problems and was not present at the hearing. Her lawsuit will be heard at a later date. It is not yet clear when.
A fifth suspect was 38-year-old BR from Zwaag. He was caught red-handed during a traffic stop in Wervershoof in 2020. During the search, officers subsequently found 70 wrappers with MDMA and cocaine, a telephone and a cash book. He is sentenced to 60 hours of community service.