Chilean prisoner accused of running drug ring from Amsterdam; 440kg cocaine find in Rotterdam

A high court in Chile reviewed the Netherlands' extradition request to have prisoner Ricard R.V. transferred to Dutch custody to face accusations of running a 40-million dollar cocaine empire. As part of a major money laundering investigation, in 2016 the police raided buildings on Beethovenstraat and Groenendaalstraat in Amsterdam, and in Badoehevedorp and Amstelveen.

RV denied any connection to drug trafficking.

Roughly 440 kilograms of cocaine was found hidden in a ship in Rotterdam, which had a possible link to RV's trafficking between Ecuador and Europe, sources told the Parool. In a house on Beethovenstraat in Amsterdam-Zuid the police found pictures of the supposed drug kingpin hanging on the wall and what appeared to be the administration of a cocaine trafficking operation. The accountancy showed the drug operation was worth tens of millions.

RV was once registered at the Beethovenstraat adress, but de-registered in 2007, his lawyer Leon van Kleef told the newspaper.

In an office belonging to R.V.'s sister and brother-in-law the police found traces of cocaine in a container, another possible piece of evidence that links him to cocaine dealing, the newspaper reported.

"This case is based on alleged crimes. In some properties the police found illegal businesses that they linked to my client without evidence," Van Kleef said.

RV was arrested in Chile on October 21. The Chilean court began the process on January 9.