The Public Prosecution Service has today demanded 7 years of imprisonment and a fine of 7000 euros against a 47-year-old resident of Boxtel. The man is suspected of large-scale international drug trafficking.
The police investigation started after a report was received via Meld Misdaad Anoniem (MMA) in August 2024. The suspect is said to have been trading drugs with his son-in-law, using vehicles with hidden compartments to transport narcotics across the border. The suspects car dealership served as a cover.
Son-in-law Caught in France
A month after the investigation began, a report came from France that the suspects son-in-law had been arrested at the border between France and Italy. In a hidden compartment in his car, 25 kilograms of cocaine were found. Dutch law enforcement agencies subsequently searched the suspects business premises in Boxtel in September 2024.
This search yielded not only the discovery of 7000 euros in cash but also a hard disk recorder. This contained a wealth of camera footage from inside the premises. It shows the suspect and an accomplice moving marked kilogram blocks of cocaine and hiding the blocks in vehicles. The police ultimately counted more than 200 different blocks of cocaine weighing 1 kilogram each.
The premises were visited again a month later because there was suspicion that a hidden compartment existed in the warehouse to store the drugs before they were transported. And this turned out to be true. Large quantities of cocaine packages were not found in a cleverly concealed space above a ceiling lamp, but there was still a remnant of 500 grams of cocaine. Additionally, 19 kilograms of hashish were discovered.
Prepared Van in Another Warehouse
In early 2025, another warehouse of the suspect in Boxtel was extensively observed. The Boxtel resident was found there almost daily, and the observation teams suspected that illegal activities were taking place again. After his arrest in April, a search of the warehouse revealed a van with a large hidden compartment behind the passenger seat, ready for a trip.
According to the public prosecutor, the suspect has the qualities to run a legitimate business but consciously chose a different path: “It is extremely sad and a missed opportunity that the suspect set up this business for the illegal drug market. And while, given his qualities, he could have made a positive contribution to the society of which he is a part. He operates an illegal, international trading company in the cocaine market. A market that leads to undermining and corruption, creating money flows that intertwine the upper and lower worlds. A market also known for its violence, where rip deals, revenge actions, and executions are daily occurrences.”
A lengthy prison sentence is therefore the only appropriate measure. The public prosecutor: “The suspect himself does not provide transparency. This gives me the impression of a calculating entrepreneur who accepts imprisonment as a business risk.”