Up to 30 months in prison for foiled prison break

The court in Amsterdam sentenced four men to up to 30 months in prison on Monday for their involvement in a foiled attempt to break Benaouf A. out of the prison in Roermond with a hijacked helicopter last year, NU.nl reports.

The sentences are considerably lower than the up to nine years in prison the Public Prosecutor demanded. This is because the men had not yet started the helicopter hijacking - the police intervened before it could happen. "Because the police stopped the men before the start of the execution, the attempted hijacking and liberation can not be proven for any of the suspects", the court said.

The court does consider it proven that the four men were preparing to hijack the helicopter, and they were therefore convicted of that. "They had a bag with weapons and ammunition waiting in a car near the place where the hijacking would take place", the court said.

A total of nine men were accused of trying to break Benaouf A., who is considered one of the leaders in the Amsterdam underworld, out of prison. The other five were acquitted.

A. is currently serving a 12 year prison sentence for ordering an assassination in Antwerp in 2012.