4 men receive up to 8 years in jail for importing 1,122 kg of cocaine via Amsterdam port
Four men were sentenced to up to eight years for importing 1,122 kilos of cocaine via the port of Amsterdam in July 2022, the court in Haarlem reported on Friday. Three men must also repay the money they earned from a previous drug transport in 2021, a total of more than two million euros.
In July 2022, the Dutch police intercepted a container in the Amsterdam port, which was found to contain 1,122 kilos of cocaine concealed in bags of cocoa beans from Ecuador.
An employee of an Amsterdam port container company facilitated this operation by allowing a driver to pick up the container and then manipulating the computer system to make it seem as if the container had never left the site. Two men followed the container in a rented car, and one of them also rented a van that was parked at the location where the driver took the container.
The court ruled that the driver, the container company employee, and the two men in the rented car were involved in the import of 1,122 kilos of cocaine. According to the court, all four individuals were aware or should have reasonably suspected, that they were dealing with cocaine. They are therefore all convicted of intentionally importing cocaine.
The two men in the car were crucial in organizing the transport, as evidenced by intercepted messages, and were sentenced to eight years in prison. The container company employee, who played a significant but not organizing role and misused his position and logistics knowledge, was sentenced to 6.5 years. The driver, who followed instructions and had a lesser, executive role, received a 4-year prison term.
Police investigations also revealed that the two organizers and the container company employee were also involved in a drug transport in December 2021. Interceptions allowed authorities to estimate their earnings from this operation. The court ruled that these individuals must return their illicit gains to the state. The two organizers are each required to pay back over 1.1 million euros, while the container company employee is ordered to repay 22,000 euros.
