He posed as a funeral director: a 30-year-old man driving a hearse, dressed in a sharp suit, a black tie, and neat shoes. He claimed to transport two bodies in coffins from Spain to Edam. But the reality was quite different: the police found no bodies, but discovered 230 kilograms of cocaine in the coffins. Today, the Public Prosecution Service demands a 6-year prison sentence for the 30-year-old Frenchman.
The man was arrested on Friday, December 13, 2024, on the A29 highway, near Numansdorp, just south of Rotterdam. After noticeable driving behavior, the police decided to pull the man over to ask him a few questions and check his papers. The suspect then showed French contracts and documents indicating he was allowed to transport corpses. However, the officers did not trust the documents. For instance, the names of the deceased did not appear in the Dutch registers, and upon checking the funeral company, it turned out the stated address was a perfume shop on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The police decided to seize the coffins and take them to a funeral home. In total, they found nine sports bags filled with cocaine.
The suspect claims he had to do this job to pay off a debt, but the Public Prosecution Service is not concerned with that. “This is a case of importation, a serious criminal offense, and the suspect also used forged documents. This plan was meticulously devised, extremely calculated, cunning, and undermining. It exploits the respect for the deceased, something the Public Prosecution Service considers an aggravating factor. The suspect did everything to mislead the police, but thanks to the thorough and decisive work of the police, we are here today in the courtroom,” said the Public Prosecutor.