Up to 13 years in prison cocaine trafficking from South America
The court in Amsterdam sentenced three men to up to 13 years in prison for large-scale cocaine trafficking. Large batches of cocaine were smuggled out of South America on container ships, thrown overboard at sea, and then fished out by fishing boats from Urk and brought to the Netherlands, NOS reports.
The most severe punishment was imposed on Muhammed S. According to the court, he played a leading role in the smuggling network, which has been trafficking cocaine to the Netherlands since 2015. S. was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Ferry B. was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. He was an active member of the smuggling network and, with S., opened fire on a fisherman's home in Hippolytushoef three years ago, to put him under pressure. The third suspect, Leendert R., got 5.5 years in prison. According to the judge, he played a major role in importing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine through the port of Harlingen last year.
The Urk fishermen who fished the cocaine out of the sea and brought it to the Netherlands were already sentenced to between three and six years in prison.
