News report | 02-12-2025 | 14:31
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has made procedural agreements with five suspects in a major case involving cocaine laundering in Frisian Aldwâld. A year ago, a laboratory was discovered there that was set up to extract cocaine from carrier material. In this case, the cocaine was washed into bags of concrete mortar. Three Colombian suspects, who were flown in to carry out this chemical process, face prison sentences of over two years according to the OM. Two Dutch suspects with smaller roles are expected to receive short prison sentences and community service. The procedural agreements were explained on Tuesday in the Amsterdam court.
It is not an everyday sight in the otherwise quiet Aldwâld in the Frisian countryside. In the week before Christmas 2024, the police found a fully equipped professional cocaine laboratory in a warehouse. The warehouse is divided into workspaces and a living area. The rooms are built with insulating sandwich panels to retain heat and the smell of chemical fumes. In this warehouse, BMK, chemicals, fuels, and 20 bags of concrete mortar were found. They are filled with a powdery solid substance with white granules. It turned out to be carrier material in which cocaine was processed, as later concluded by the NFI. There is also an extraction room where 1.72 kilos of extracted wet cocaine were found. A dangerous situation, as described by the public prosecutor of the National Office:
The location of the laboratory, near a residential house and other business premises on the same plot and an adjacent campsite, posed a significant danger to residents and emergency responders. Large quantities of fire- and explosion-hazardous chemicals were found in the laboratory. In the event of a fire and/or explosion, emergency responders at such a location would initially not assume a fire in a large drug laboratory, with all the associated risks. The large amount of mostly volatile substances present can lead to a serious and extensive disaster.
Colombian suspects
Six people were arrested, including the three Colombian suspects. According to the OM, they came to the Netherlands solely to wash the cocaine from the carrier material due to their knowledge of that chemical process. They stayed shortly before the arrest at a nearby holiday park. The fourth suspect who made procedural agreements was also arrested at the Frisian lab. Based on forensic traces, he was involved in washing out part of the cocaine. He appears to have had a limited and executing role.
Bags of Tile adhesive from the hardware store
During searches at various locations in the Netherlands, the National Unit for National Investigation and Interventions (LO) found more. In a warehouse near a farm in Losser, a large number of pallets with 25-kilo bags of Tile adhesive from the hardware store were found. Some already emptied bags were also found, with residue testing positive for cocaine. The composition is almost identical to that in Friesland. It appears to be the stash location of the cocaine. It was probably processed in the material in South America and can thus more easily pass customs control. The bags found in the Losser warehouse were imported by a company of the fifth suspect standing trial today. He says he was used as a front man and put the property in his name at the request of a main suspect and made payments and signed documents for him.
Procedural agreements
The OM makes agreements with suspects in some cases. Advantages of procedural agreements are that the criminal case can be settled faster and appeals can be prevented. The suspect quickly knows what to expect and can start serving the sentence immediately. It also reduces the burden on the capacity of the police, the Public Prosecution Service, and the Judiciary. The OM believes that making procedural agreements can significantly contribute to an efficient settlement of criminal cases, benefiting the entire criminal justice chain. Ultimately, the judge always has the final say and is not bound by the agreements between the OM and defense.
Sentencing demands
Procedural agreements have been made with the three Colombian suspects, which means that instead of 36 months imprisonment, the OM will demand 25 months. The suspects waive submitting investigation requests and no defenses are presented by the defense.
For the man arrested with them in the lab, without procedural agreements, a demand of 12 months imprisonment, of which 9 months conditional, and 240 hours of community service would be appropriate. With procedural agreements, this becomes a prison sentence of 252 days, of which 152 days conditional, and 168 hours of community service.
For the man who was used as a front man, the OM would have demanded a sentence of 2 years imprisonment without procedural agreements, of which 690 days conditional, with special conditions and 240 hours of community service. After procedural agreements, the OM demands a prison sentence of 511 days, of which 471 days conditional, with special conditions, and 168 hours of community service.
No sentence has yet been demanded against two main suspects. The trial against one of them, a 28-year-old man from Vlaardingen, is ongoing. He is also suspected of trafficking ketamine and BMK. Another suspect was arrested in January this year in the United Arab Emirates. The OM has requested his extradition.
