Three men appeared in court today for importing 26 packages containing over 25 kilograms of cocaine via a flower shipment to the Netherlands. One of them, a 53-year-old man from Diemen, worked at the flower company in Aalsmeer where the drugs were intercepted. The Public Prosecution Service of North Holland demanded seven years in prison for him and two others, a 40-year-old man from Amsterdam and a 63-year-old man from Barendrecht, for their involvement in drug trafficking.
Investigation Begins
On Saturday, May 21, 2023, a flower box was discovered at a company in Aalsmeer containing over 25 kilograms of cocaine, which had arrived from Colombia via Schiphol. A legitimate employee noticed the unusual and notably heavy package, placed it in an office behind lock and key, and alerted Customs. In the seized box, in addition to cocaine, trackers were also found. Subsequently, the Royal Military Police initiated a criminal investigation.
Three Men
Camera footage from the flower company showed that on the fateful Saturday, in the very early morning, three men were seen wandering around the company hall, presumably looking for the cocaine shipment. It was established that one was an employee with two strangers. The prosecutor stated: ‘The three had no business being there at that time; the company is closed to customers on weekends. The two men did not enter through the central entrance where customers usually report, but were let in through a back door.’
Inside Help
The corrupt employee of the flower company, according to the Public Prosecution Service, took on a facilitating role that did not fit within his normal job description: he offered himself for tasks, changed his schedule, arranged future dates for work, and tried to corrupt colleagues to participate. The prosecutor stated: ‘In the criminal circuit, this is called ‘the door’. Someone who guarantees criminals a successful drug haul. ‘The door’ is thus a crucial link in the international drug chain. Without ‘a door’, criminals are generally not even willing to make investments or put in the effort to set up a drug transport. The cargo is after all far too expensive and the overseas trust is costly and vulnerable, to send cocaine to the Netherlands without (door) guarantees.’
Videos
The identities of the two strange men were further investigated through analysis of footage and travel movements. On July 9, 2024, the Military Police arrested the now 40-year-old man from Amsterdam. On his seized phone, there were videos that matched exactly with the camera footage from May 21, 2023. His voice could also be heard on another video. In one video, the flower box in question is seen at times when it could not yet have been at the company in the Netherlands. Even more importantly, an image from Flightradar shows the plane with the 26 packages of cocaine on the runway in Colombia ready for takeoff. The investigation also found other incriminating videos and messages on the phone of the now 63-year-old man from Barendrecht. ‘The contents of this phone fit perfectly into the scenario that the investigation has outlined in this case, a scenario in which there was a fully premeditated drug import, in which the three suspects played a significant role in setting up this drug transport,’ said the prosecutor. The Public Prosecution Service demands an unconditional prison sentence of seven years for all three.