According to the Public Prosecution Service, 25-year-old AS from Hoorn traded in firearms, ammunition and heavy explosives such as semtex and cobras for a year and a half. But according to the suspect’s lawyer, Justice wrongly portrays S. as a major arms dealer.
This became apparent on Monday afternoon in the Haarlem court, where 25-year-old AS from Hoorn had to appear for the first time. He listened timidly, with his head bowed. In the courtroom behind him, his family sat in large numbers to show support.
Raid
Together with his brother, RS (23) from the same city, he became arrested on November 7, 2023, after the Royal Military Police raided a house on the Karveel that morning. There they found, among other things, a loaded revolver, spring-loaded weapon, two rifles and a lot of ammunition. Officers also discovered a large amount of semtex and cobras during the search of the house. According to justice, the large-scale action took place in connection with an ongoing investigation. Only S. is still in custody. His brother has now been released, but remains a suspect in the case.
A hobby that got out of hand
Nonsense, said lawyer Tjerk Wassenaar. He said that S. is wrongly portrayed by the Public Prosecution Service as ‘a major arms dealer’. According to him, it is a lot more nuanced. “He is a boy who has a great passion for the Second World War, and went out with a metal detector and exchanged his finds with other collectors. It is a hobby that has gotten out of hand.” He asked the court for an acquittal.
The prosecutor called the fact that it was a hobby that got out of hand ‘quite naive and misplaced’. “It was a criminal, illegal arms trade,” she said.
S. must appear again on April 29. There is no date yet for a substantive hearing.