On July 15, the substantive hearing took place in the court in Leeuwarden regarding the investigation into criminal activities on encrypted chat services. Two suspects were on trial for various offenses related to the trafficking and import of cocaine and possession of weapons. The investigation also had the main objective of confiscating the calculated unlawfully obtained profits.
The suspects allegedly communicated openly with each other via the chat services Enscochat, Skx ECC, and Anoc about the criminal offenses they committed, including the import and trade of cocaine and the profits derived from it.
The prosecutor at the hearing: This concerns suspicion of serious and undermining offenses. [...] The import and trade of narcotics also form a link in a chain of criminal undermining activities that seriously disrupt society. It often leads to other forms of serious crime, such as violence and money laundering. In this case, substantial amounts were earned by the suspects, and firearms were found.
Previous convictions of the suspects and the dismantling of the criminal chat services did not lead to the suspects stopping their criminal activities, as evidenced by the possession of firearms and the preparatory actions taken by both suspects in 2024 aimed at once again importing and producing cocaine.
The lawyers of both suspects suggested during the hearing of the detention request to explore whether process agreements could be reached in this case. In January of this year, exploratory talks were held. Follow-up discussions ultimately led to joint agreements being made regarding the course and resolution of the criminal and confiscation case.
It was agreed that the suspects would pay their portion of the confiscation claim in full and in cash to the police before the substantive hearing. The suspects adhered to that agreement. € 387,530 of criminal money has thus been removed from circulation.
In accordance with the agreement, the prosecutor recommended during the substantive hearing a prison sentence of six years (instead of nine years) for the 42-year-old suspect and a payment obligation of € 337,550. For the 32-year-old suspect, the prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of 53 months (instead of six years) and a payment obligation of € 49,980.
On July 29, the court rendered its judgment. The court agreed to the process agreements made and sentenced both suspects in accordance with the prosecutions demands. A confiscation measure was also imposed in accordance with the prosecutions request. This measure had already been paid by the suspects as part of the process agreements. Thus, the case is concluded.
The importance of process agreements for the suspect lies in achieving a lower penalty demand than would be expected without process agreements. The importance of the Public Prosecution Service, and thus the societal interest, is primarily the definitive conclusion of a large criminal case, allowing the prosecution and the judiciary to allocate released hearing time to other criminal cases. This applies not only to the handling of the criminal case in the court but also certainly for handling in appeal at the court of appeal.
The prosecutions efforts in this case are also aimed at preventing a lengthy management phase in the first instance and a hearing in appeal. Secondly, the societal interest lies in the payment of substantial amounts of criminal money in the context of the confiscation case.