Checkpoint coffeeshop owner fined 10 million euros; 16 convicted as criminal organisation
A Dutch court convicted Checkpoint coffeeshop owner Meddy Willemsen and 15 staff of drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal organisation on 25 March 2010, imposing a 10 million euro confiscation order. Police had found about 200 kg of cannabis in raids on the Terneuzen shop in 2007 and 2008, far above the 500 g tolerance limit, before it was closed in May 2008.
Checkpoint in Terneuzen, near the Belgian border, was the biggest cannabis coffeeshop in
the Netherlands, selling about 10 kg a day to some 3,000 customers before police forcibly
closed it in May 2008.[1]Dutch tolerance rules let coffeeshops keep no more than 500 g
on hand, but police found about 200 kg of cannabis in raids on the shop in 2007 and 2008.[2][3]At five grams per customer, a full day’s trade meant shifting up to 15,000 grams
through a back door the law pretends does not exist.[3]
Conviction
Owner Meddy Willemsen stood trial in 2009 with 15 employees and suppliers on trafficking
and criminal-organisation charges, with prosecutors treating 28 million euros allegedly
earned between January 2006 and May 2008 as criminal assets.[1]On 25 March 2010 the
court convicted all sixteen and ordered Willemsen to pay 10 million euros, less than
prosecutors had sought because the municipality had helped the shop grow, putting up road
signs pointing to it and building a nearby car park.[2][3]Willemsen also received a
16-week prison term and walked free, credited with time served after his arrest.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Charged
16
Cannabis
200 kg
Prison
16 weeks (time served)
Fine
EUR 10,000,000
Agency type
Police, Prosecutor
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (200 kg)
Activity
Trafficking
Setting
Shop
Case stage
Charged
Sources
Der Spiegelspiegel.deCannabis Crackdown: Coffee Shop Trial a Test for Dutch Drug Policies
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