ARNHEM - The military chamber of the court in Arnhem on Thursday last week sentenced a 34-year-old officer from Helden in the Netherlands to six years in prison for the attempted import of more than 72 kilos of cocaine. The drugs had a street value of 3.5 million euros.
The soldier tried to smuggle the drugs from Curaçao to the Netherlands, but the drugs were already intercepted before departure at the naval base Parera. The man was sentenced to 6 years in August last year but appealed. His sentence has now been reaffirmed.
The narcotics were hidden in shipping containers, in three duffel bags and in a 'camel bag' that lay in an army chest. There was a padlock around the chest, the keys were later found with the man's mother.
The containers are used to bring military goods and equipment to the Netherlands. The soldier had handed in his belongings for shipping in June 2019 and flew to the Netherlands the next day.