I am really out of sync and need to tune into one of these shows. In the meantime, I came across this article from 1998:
http://lmtonline.com/news/archive/071698/pagea11.pdfDutch marine trio
jailed for smugglingBY MARLISE SIMONS
c.1998 N.Y. Times ServiceTHE HAGUE, Netherlands —
Three Dutch marines involved in
drug-control efforts in the
Caribbean have been arrested
in connection with the smuggling
of close to 700 pounds of
cocaine to the Netherlands.
The drugs were carried on a
military plane that was normally
used in the anti-drug campaign
in the Dutch Antilles, the islands
off the Venezuelan coast.Although the Dutch are known
for their lenient policy toward
soft drugs, the discovery of the
smuggling, which involved hard
drugs that are strictly outlawed,
has infuriated the government.
According to government investigators,
the marines apparently
were acting as couriers for civilian
drug smugglers based in
South America and the
Netherlands.
They could apparently carry
their goods with ease, because
there is little customs control
over military forces on the Dutch
island of Curacao, their point of
departure, or on the military air
base in the Netherlands that
was their destination.
The discovery of the smuggling
route is an embarrassment for
the Dutch government, which is
expecting an official visit from
Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the
American drugs policy adviser,
on Thursday.
That visit has itself stirred
anger in the government.
Although the general is ostensibly
coming here to observe how
the Dutch and other European
countries cope with drug use,
before his arrival he condemned
the Dutch drug policy in an interview
as “an unmitigated disaster.”
So far, three marines and 11
civilians have been arrested in
the last few days in connection
with the smuggling.
Government investigators
apparently had been watching
the network since March before
they intercepted a load of
cocaine as marines brought it off
the plane in bags in the
Netherlands. Another 100
pounds of cocaine were found in
the home of a Dutch sergeant
major living in Curacao.
The minister of defense said
the behavior of the marines was
“scandalous.”
He said that “military
who deal in drugs are fired.”My comment: Fired? Not arrested and prosecuted?!?!One of the arrested men served
aboard the Dutch frigate, Pieter
Florisz, a ship that patrols the
Caribbean around the Antilles in
order to intercept drug smuggling
and coordinate with similar
American efforts.
Investigators said that they
were struck by the casual and
easy way the couriers could
operate: They simply carried
military canvas bags holding the
drugs on to the plane they were
taking from Curacao back to the
Netherlands or asked colleagues
to take an extra bag for
them.
At one point, one of the three
men, the sergeant major, found
that he had too large a load to
send on the plane, so he casually
took the remainder home,
according to investigators who
found about 100 pounds in the
man’s home in Curacao.
Investigators said the military
men had little idea where the
drugs were bought or where
they would end up because they
carried the drugs for an organization
of “big guys” based in
Amsterdam.A spokesman for the Dutch
navy said that he could not be
certain that military aircraft or
vessels had never been used
before for drug smuggling and
that professional drug syndicates
that operate in the
Caribbean “inevitably pose a
risk.” From now on, he said, all
military luggage will be closely
inspected.
