Woman’s shooting, arson, explosives in one village tied to South American drug busts

Three violent incidents - a woman getting shot at, arson at a transport company, and an explosive at a home - in the Gelderland village of Haaften are linked to the police busting two cocaine shipments from South America to the Netherlands, sources told De Gelderlander. The local transport company seems to have unintentionally become the target of an intimidation campaign by angry drug smugglers, the newspaper wrote.

According to the Gelderlander, all this has to do with the arrest of 55-year-old Jan M. three months ago. He is accused of shipping 3,322 kilograms of cocaine from Panama and Ecuador to the Netherlands in 2020 and 2021, allegedly using his timber trade in Meerkerk as a cover.

The suspect is in a relationship with the transport company owner’s daughter. They lived together in Ibiza and the Gelderland town of Hellouw until Jan M.’s arrest on August 30. The police seized 300,000 euros in cash while searching their two homes.

The transport company has nothing to do with the drug smuggling, a spokesperson said to De Gelderlander, adding that they can’t say anything more by order of the police.

A truck was set on fire at the transport company at the end of October. Someone shot at a woman in the same village a short time later and set off an explosive device at a home on the same street. The woman is not linked to the transport company - the police suspect it was a case of mistaken identity, according to the newspaper.

The police would not comment to De Gelderlander whether they’re investigating a possible link between the three incidents and the cocaine busts.