public prosecutor

Since the maximum penalty for murder was increased from 20 to 30 years in prison, the gap with the maximum sentence for manslaughter has become too large, Gerrit van der Burg, the chief executive at the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said to Trouw on Thursday. He wants to increase the maximum prison sentence for manslaughter, which is currently 15 years.

At least 1,500 interpreters in the Netherlands are on strike from Monday - they will no longer take work from the judiciary, police and immigration and naturalization service IND. The interpreters are striking against government budget cuts, which they believe come at the expense of quality. According to action group Registertolken en -vertalers, the strike will last as long as necessary, AD reports.

Customs officers intercepted a large amount of cocaine during a check at the port of Rotterdam on Monday. The drugs were hidden in around 40 barrels of frozen fruit pulp, the Public Prosecutor said on Wednesday.

The container with the drugs came from Brazil. The cocaine was removed and destroyed. 

The HARC team, a joint venture of Customs, FIOD, Seaport Police, and the Public Prosecution Service in Rotterdam, is investigating.

Four separate shipments of cocaine were found by Customs officials at the Port of Rotterdam over the past week. All told, officials captured 1,457 kilograms of cocaine, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said.

All of the cocaine made its way to the Netherlands from Brazil. The drugs were later destroyed, the OM said.

It started on December 12 when Customs officers found 450 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a shipment of grit used in the concrete industry. Another 500 kilograms of the drug was found frozen inside barrels of concentrated fruit pulp.

Gokmen T., the suspected gunman in a mass shooting on a tram in Utrecht in March, did not appear in court for a proforma hearing in his case on Monday, despite a court order that he attend. A lot of violence would have been needed to get him to the courtroom, the court said. "It is not up to the suspect to dictate whether he appears or not, but under these circumstances the court refrains from forcing him to be present," the court president said, according to broadcaster NOS. 

Bekir E. was sentenced to 14 years in prison and institutionalized psychiatric treatment for shooting and killing 16-year-old Humeyra at her Rotterdam school in December last year.

Mayor Henri Lenferink of Leiden is organizing two discussion evenings for students and other residents to discuss the feeling of insecurity in the city after two recent sexual assaults and a rape. The meetings will take place on December 16 and 19 at student associations, but they "are explicitly open to anyone who needs it", the mayor said on a sign-up form, Omroep West reports.

A 40-year-old man from Almere is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in a home in his hometown in June. The trial against Kamil O. will start on February 26th, the court said during a case status hearing on Wednesday. The victim is Parus Pillay, a 43-year-old body-builder from Durban in South Africa, according to South African media.

The police and Public Prosecutor are investigating a case in which a man from Noord-Nederland lost nearly a million euros to a phishing SMS in a single night. This is the biggest phishing case of its kind in the Netherlands so far, NOS reports.

One evening in September the victim received an SMS seemingly from his bank saying that his debit card was about to expire. He clicked on the link in the message, and entered his details on the site it led to. This turned out to be a fake site. When he woke up the next morning, he was nearly a million euros poorer.

Russia deliberately obstructed a request from the Netherlands for the provisional arrest and extradition of Vladimir Tsemakh - a suspect in the investigation into the downing of flight MH17, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said in a statement on Monday. 

Four banks teamed up with the Dutch government and authorities to fight against financial service providers who launder money for criminals, Financieele Dagblad reported on Friday based on information from an anonymous source.

According to FD, ABN Amro, ING, Rabobank and Volksbank signed a covenant with the National Police, the FIOD, the Public Prosecution Service, and financial intelligence unit FIU. This "serious crime task force" will focus on upper world lackeys who facilitate undermining crime.