The Public Prosecution Service Rotterdam confirms this to RTL Nieuws.
prepared container
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the five suspects were brought to the port area with a prepared container to subsequently remove cocaine from other containers. The five suspects were arrested on January 1 this year. A sixth suspect, aged fifteen, was also arrested. For the time being, this minor suspect will only be prosecuted on the basis of the eviction law.
The Public Prosecution Service has been trying for some time to also prosecute suspected extortionists for participation in a criminal organization, but the examining magistrate has so far never agreed.
This week, the Rotterdam council chamber, which makes an initial assessment of the reasonableness of an indictment, has agreed to this for the first time.
“There are serious suspicions against the suspect: the co-perpetration of the import of a batch of cocaine of approximately 540 kilos with a street value of 15 to 16 million euros. of a more or less organized partnership.”
Small success
The fact that swindlers may now be punished more severely can be seen as a small success for the Public Prosecution Service. Because although the Ministry of Justice was given more options last year with the introduction of an ‘eliminator law’ to detain suspects longer and to punish them more severely, the new law was not a great success in the first year.
Suspects who received heavy sentences from the Rotterdam court often successfully appealed. For example, there was one case in which the Public Prosecution Service had demanded a prison sentence of 17 months, but the suspect was ultimately sentenced to community service and a suspended prison sentence on appeal.
In many cases, the Court gave lower sentences because the suspects were so-called ‘first offenders’. Although the new ‘Extractors Act’ is still being evaluated, the House of Representatives has also noticed this.
‘Tit-a-tap policy’
In a letter to parliament dated 22 December 2022, Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yesilgöz writes about this: “Following the most recent jurisprudence, first offenders mainly risk community service and a suspended prison sentence, which means that detention does not follow and the lick-up piece policy partly disappears.”
Now that the Public Prosecution Service can prosecute suspected extortionists for membership of a criminal organization, the judiciary may still be able to get suspects behind bars for a longer period of time.
The pre-trial detention of the 5 adult suspects has been extended by 90 days. The pro forma at the Rotterdam court is scheduled for April 11.
