' Cheese route ' leads to criminal proceedings against people of Amsterdam

The Colombian drug cartel and the Netherlands had figured out that customers in a party cocaine with a market value of hundreds of millions of euros in the Netherlands could be shipped to death tug Otton.

That the boat, which a maintenance yard in Antwerp was elected, a layman could see from a distance. A plausible coverup, in that sense. In retrospect, the choice for the rickety tug be judged as valid penny wise pound foolish ' and ' '.

Cocaine The crew confessed that the condemned to heavy sentences 135 bales with each thirty kilos of cocaine by two speed boats come alongside on the Otton were put in the waters between Venezuela and Curaçao. The drug was hidden in a secret compartment expertly mountain in the nave, between the engines.

The crossing went wonderfully well, but the pilot who on the night of 17 to 18 August 2003 came on board to ship to the port of Antwerp, hit alarm about the deplorable state of the hauling and decided that to let to the nearest Quay mooring, in Vlissingen. He had no clue about the millions of load.

Tip Only gradually revealed the Otton contain freight de recherche already expected since may, after a tip from the criminal environment that Antillian Hensley j. from Lelystad a big party would be.

The luck helped the authorities a hand. Dutch customs officers who had come on board, 18 August had nothing suspicious noted-also because the Organization forged construction drawings of the ship in the captain's quarters had laid.

The criminal investigation service and the U.s. Drug Enforcement Administration gradually came with crucial tips. Then in the afternoon of 20 August new investigators by counting the rafters in the nave had determined that a space had to be hidden in it still, they found the 4050 kilos of cocaine to-with a market value that they on 200 million estimated.

Lack of capacity captain and crew were arrested and sentenced to penalties of up to nine years in prison. In a parallel process got Hensley j., three in a holiday home in Ermelo arrested Colombians and a Mexican similar punishments.

Because of capacity constraints and because the fight against drug trafficking had less priority at the time, chased the recherche initially not go on the promoters and financiers of the mega transport.

That changed when sea and in New Netherlands, remarkable witnesses.

One hundred thousand kilos In the United States, the leaders of the Colombian cartel Los Mellizos get caught, that the cocaine had supplied. Los Mellizos, ' the twins ', was led by the brothers Mejia Munera, who was shot during his arrest, but Victor whose Michael via plea bargaining a deal had closed after which he confessed that his organisation had a hundred thousand kilos of cocaine shipped to Mexico, the u.s. and Netherlands.

About latter drugs line, which the cartel loosely translated called ' the cheese route ', would surely have been sent four ships, intended for a group in Amsterdam. After their big boss laid the past few years many Colombians statements, from which the Amsterdam public prosecutor lays out a pattern.

Orange yard would In september 1998 under the guise of maintenance the ship moored at the Orange yard Svetlana are in Amsterdam-Noord, then five hundred kilos of cocaine from a stash would be met.
In January 1999 would be the trick are repeated with the Koros, according to the estimation of Justice 1620 with a drug bust.

In december 1999, again on the Orange yard, the Pearl II packed with 2006 kilos of cocaine on board. Also with respect to those three operations called the witnesses the same group of suspects.

Shipbuilders Heino b. (50), Scion of a sure in Amsterdam-Noord well-known family of shipbuilders, was a regular subcontractor whose company on the Orange painted ships and yard he had in a similar way, a very useful position in the port of Antwerp-is the vision of Justice. The prosecutors suspect that he literally and figuratively safe havens offered to the cokeschepen.

His childhood friend Marco p. (50), previously convicted for facilitating Amsterdam criminals, and Thom b. (61) would import the parties have coordinated. Thom b. would have been an important interlocutor of Colombians. The fourth suspect who rightly state in the coming weeks ' the bunker ' of the Court in Osdorp, Rens W. (47), would be in the criminal organization have been responsible for unloading the drugs.

Hells Angels he would have played a similar role as Ron h. (60), the co-founder of the Amsterdam Hells Angels Court twelve, but by the court four years for his role in the drug case.

Apart from the triad South American regret optanten also dived in Netherlands three remarkable witnesses on.

The convicted Hensley j., known for his irascible character, after his release, comprehensive, bozige, made statements against the Club from Amsterdam and surroundings. Then popped up Wout van Kouwen. About his (UN) reliability will be much go in the bunker, right from the opening day Monday, as his trial on the agenda.

Safe statements then Minister of Justice Piet Hein Donner and the attorneys general prohibited Prosecutor Fred Teeven ever to close a deal with Van Kouwen when those secret ' safe ' statements had been made, on the backgrounds of the dreaded plan for an attack on a prosecutor Chose Plooij. In 2010 confirmed the Justice Summit ' serious doubts ' about the veracity of "crucial parts" of the statements by Van Kouwen, which was ' addicted ' and ' a cocaine user. "

Now used justice Van Kouwen. The argument will be that also one who previously has been deemed unreliable, yet truth can speak.

Kouwens's story is after all on major items match other findings in the file.

Finally, Harry w. mental capacities, that is included in a protection program. The ex-driver of underworld boss Henk Rommy explained in the Amsterdam liquidation case Passage statements which the Court used to underpin lifelong prison sentences for some defendants. On the other hand, recent research to his mental capacities destructive conclusions.

Harry w. suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder more to ' a ', ' a depressive disorder and a personality disorder with antisocial traits '. If he must testify again, runs his health more danger, fear the experts. Therefore saw the investigating judge off of a new trial. The Court must take a new decision.

The lawyers will ride roughshod over the floor with w. 's accusations. Becoming turbulent weeks in the bunker in Osdorp.

Source: Parool/(by: Paul Vugts) Photo: police ( http://www.parool.nl )