Ex-professional footballer Ronnie S. sentenced to seven years for cocaine trafficking

The court in Breda sentenced former professional footballer Ronnie S., 41, to seven years in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering related to cocaine. The punishment is significantly lower than the 13 years demanded by the Public Prosecution Service. The court found not all accusations against him proven.

Ronnie S.’s 43-year-old brother was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison, down from the six years requested by prosecutors. The brother remains a fugitive believed to be residing in Dubai. He previously received a 4.5-year sentence for similar crimes.

"Ronnie and, to a lesser extent, his brother were links in the global trade in hard drugs," the presiding judge stated.

Both men were ordered to pay fines of 30,000 euros each. The court also confiscated nearly 1.7 million euros in criminal profits from them.

According to the judge, the two showed no concern for the negative impact of drug trafficking on society. "They were solely focused on earning large sums of money."

Ronnie S., a former player for NAC Breda and FC Twente, was arrested on June 10 last year along with several family members. He remains in custody.

Critical evidence reportedly includes decrypted conversations between criminals using the hacked Sky ECC messaging service.

The court noted that Ronnie S. gave little explanation regarding the accusations. Instead, he was mostly preoccupied with how his arrest would affect his son’s football career and his business. "He should have considered this earlier and made different choices," the judge said.

Ronnie S. ended his football career in 2016 at NAC Breda. His career highlights include winning the national championship in 2010 with FC Twente. He also played for Belgian club Standard Luik and English side Wigan Athletic.