A 29-year-old owner of a Roosendaal transport company has today heard a demand for a 36-month prison sentence, of which 18 months are conditional, for arranging six so-called Trojan containers. With the prepared containers, drug runners can enter the Rotterdam port unnoticed to smuggle drugs from the site. This is said to have happened at various times between July and September 2024.
The investigation started when on September 26, 2024, a driver*, a 61-year-old man from Purmerend, was caught red-handed by customs with a prepared container containing three drug runners. The GPS data from the container showed that it came from a transport company in Roosendaal.
Further investigation revealed that this was not the first time that suspicious containers had entered the port area via the transport company. Indications of this were found on the phone of the suspect and a driver. They were discussing telescope ladders they provided to soldiers and that they were not playing childs play. Communication was also found regarding assignments and payments of many thousands of euros and a cocaine shipment of 600 kilograms intercepted in Antwerp; the police found photos of images on kilo blocks on his phone and a photo of ground container latches was shared. By modifying the latches, containers can be opened more easily from the inside. In total, six such containers were brought into the port by the transport entrepreneur.
The conversations matched cases that the Special Assistance Team (TBB) of Customs found at the port terminal. In a container with ground latches, two individuals were found with, among other things, drug runner tools and food and drink.
Search of the Transport Company
On November 27, 2024, the transport company was searched. It was found that the warehouse was used for preparing containers. “The suspect should have known what would happen to the containers. He is an essential link in the cocaine distribution chain,” said the public prosecutor in the courtroom. In two of the six cases, the containers were used to remove 252 kilograms of cocaine. However, that amount had already been removed from the container by the Colombian police – without others knowing.
The suspect claimed to have been pressured by others to make his company available for assistance with drug imports. According to the Public Prosecution Service, this could be true, but it seems primarily a conscious choice, a side hustle alongside his legal work. “As the director of a company that transports containers to and from the port, you know things can go wrong. Once in the clutches of criminals, you cant go back. Once you are in, they wont let you go. It is a choice the suspect made. A choice that went wrong,” said the public prosecutor.
*The driver was previously convicted to one year in prison.