The gang brought in drugs through European ports and laundered large amounts of money. “There is talk of a largest organization in which a large number of fictitious companies have been set up to set up an apparently legal form of import of, among other things, fruit,” said the court. The three executives coordinated and facilitated the drug and money laundering activities.
Those involved communicated by using names from the children’s series Sesame Street, hence the name Sesame Street Cartel. In 2018, the group’s records were seized, prompting the investigation into the gang. On the basis of this, the police started the current investigation into money flows, in which detectives came across Ennetcom data that had now been decrypted.
House searches
At the end of 2019, the criminal investigation department searched business premises and homes in twenty places in the Netherlands. One of the suspects was already arrested for possessing more than 50,000 ecstasy pills and is being prosecuted separately for this. Five false IDs, including a false diplomatic passport, were found on another suspect.