During a multi-day session at the court in Schiphol, eight suspects are on trial for participating in long-term and large-scale trafficking of illegal medicines - including addictive pills like oxycodone - and anabolic steroids. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the suspects earned millions of euros from January 2017 to October 2021, some of which was through cryptocurrency. The Public Prosecution Service also finds it proven that the eight were guilty of money laundering. The Public Prosecution Service demands prison sentences of 45, 33, 22, and 16 months against six suspects and community service sentences of 180 and 240 hours against two suspects. The prosecutor: This is about making a lot of money and playing with someones health. And feeding addictions to a strong and beautiful body, to pain relief, or to sleeping medication to combat insomnia.
Investigation begins
The investigation by the FIOD started in May 2019 following a report from the Health Care Inspectorate and obtained criminal intelligence. Through Customs at Schiphol, the FIOD stumbled upon recent shipments of raw materials and two machines capable of producing anabolic steroids and medicines. A GPS tracker placed in two machines, to identify the delivery address, unfortunately yielded nothing. The premises where the last signal was received was empty and for rent.
Pseudopurchase
Shielded information about the suspects webshops, where the illegal medicines were offered, combined with wiretapped conversations, led the FIOD and Public Prosecution Service to decide to proceed with a pseudopurchase: the investigative service posed as a buyer and paid with bitcoins. Fingerprints of one of the suspects were subsequently found on the packaging of the delivered medicines. At the same time, incriminating information emerged in an investigation into drug chemicals elsewhere in the Netherlands. When the FIOD deployed an observation team, they saw a person emptying mailboxes. A GPS tracker under his car showed visits to other parties involved in the dossier. The next pseudopurchase, this time via cash payment through a mailbox in Spijkenisse, provided enough evidence for searches and arrests.
Eight suspects
This led to the action day in October 2021. The FIOD then conducted searches in various municipalities in South Holland in the homes and business premises of the suspects: three brothers, men now 44 years old from Rotterdam, 41 years old from Hoeksche Waard, and 47 years old from Spijkenisse. Equipment for the production of anabolic steroids, stockpiles of medicines, luxury vehicles and vessels, cash, and cryptocurrency were seized. The illegal goods were confiscated and the webshops were taken offline. Based on further investigation of seized data carriers, new players came into view, or their precise role in the whole: a man now 54 years old from Rotterdam (the Public Prosecution Service sees him as a courier) and a man now 53 years old from Alphen aan den Rijn (who made his business premises available, among other things). They, along with the three brothers, spent some time in pre-trial detention. Three other suspects (a now 41-year-old woman from Voorburg, a now 53-year-old man from Zoetermeer, and a now 35-year-old woman from Hoeksche Waard) have not been in pre-trial detention.
Webshops
The suspects appear to have set up large-scale trafficking in medicines, generating significant income. They managed professionally looking webshops, offering dozens of different anabolic steroids and medicines, such as oxycodone, diazepam, and oxazepam. The sites stated that all offered medicines were available without a doctors prescription. But in reality, these were (addiction-prone) pills that could only be obtained with a doctors prescription and that contained substances listed on lists I or II of the Opium Act. Payments were made via cryptocurrency, cash, or bank transfers through (foreign) bank accounts. The previously lost tracker was found in an office that one of the three brothers rented from their uncle, the co-defendant from Zoetermeer.
Behind the front door
The prosecutor at the hearing: A common thread in this investigation is the danger to public health. There is nothing known about the production, dosage, and conditions under which these substances and medicines have been stored. I want to point out the dangers of the traded substance oxycodone, a substance with a higher street value than heroin and extremely addictive. Use must occur under strict medical supervision, but these suspects made it illegally available to people who were or became dependent. Out of sight of doctors. Dangerous and undesirable. We do not know what lies behind their use, possibly serious diseases that are not being treated properly. It is the invisible suffering behind doors where caregivers and professionals are sidelined.
Criminal offenses
Large-scale trafficking in products that are presented in appearance as medicines and contain active substances is punishable. Medicines have even been found with the suspects for which no trade license has been granted for the Dutch market or that contain an amount of active ingredients that are not permitted in the Netherlands. Additionally, all suspects are accused of money laundering. The suspects received benefits or were in debt restructuring, but meanwhile made trips and earned money on which no taxes were paid. What is so detrimental about making a lot of money from crime is the image it reflects on the rest of society, that just working and contributing something is for losers. But the opposite is true. Enjoying benefits and allowances while not contributing to the pot from which they are paid is nothing less than antisocial, said the prosecutor.
Severe demands
The Public Prosecution Service finds the participation in trafficking illegal medicines and anabolic steroids proven, as well as money laundering. The Public Prosecution Service demands prison sentences of 45, 33, 22, and 16 months against six suspects and community service sentences of 180 and 240 hours against two suspects. The prosecutor: There is no reason to treat cases of calculating traffickers in illegal medicines differently from cases in which hard drugs are sold. In both cases, products that are particularly dangerous to public health are traded. Making people dependent and making large illegal profits shows an underground world that is far from innocent. Moreover, we see in this case suspects who have a high degree of autonomy in making the choice to commit these offenses. Day in and day out, they could stop, but they choose to continue with every order. No one forced them to do this; profit was the only motive. It is strange that street dealers or couriers, who experience or have much less autonomy, are imposed severe prison sentences without hesitation, and that this would not be appropriate for these suspects.
Health risks
By ordering medicines and muscle enhancers online, the user risks significant health risks. There is no control over the composition and effectiveness of these products, and there is no visibility on the combination with other medicines. An incorrect dosage can be addictive, dangerous, or even life-threatening. Contaminated pills or counterfeit medication can lead to organ damage. The Health Care Inspectorate emphasizes that medicines should only be used in consultation with a doctor and obtained from a recognized pharmacy.
The court is expected to deliver its verdict in mid-August