Dutch athlete regrets selling drugs at Hungary music festival

Roelf B., a Dutch athlete in custody in Hungary for drug trafficking after he was caught selling drugs at a festival there, expressed regret for his actions. He said that he only sold the drugs because he wanted to help his childhood friend Gert-Jan N., a second Dutch man in custody for drug trafficking, the Volkskrant reports based on a statement B. gave to the Hungarian Public Prosecution Service.

The two Dutch men were arrested at the Sziget music festival in Budapest in August last year. They had drugs with a street value of hundreds of thousands of euros with them and were well prepared to sell it at the festival, according to the Hungarian authorities. The country has a strict anti-drug policy and the two Dutch men could face years in prison.

In his statement to the authorities, B. said that he was "naive and stupid" and that he wanted to help N. with "his plan", according to the newspaper. He said that he was looking for "adventure" to escape the daily demands of life as a professional athlete.

Gert-Jan N.'s lawyer did not want to respond to the Volkskrant about B.'s accusations. He did say that "it does not matter to the punishment in Hungary who devised the plan to sell drugs".