Cocaine smuggling trial: woman sentenced to seven years in prison

A 50-year-old woman who is said to have organized the smuggling of at least 50 kilos of cocaine from the Netherlands and Belgium to Austria was sentenced to seven years in prison on Monday at the Korneuburg regional court. The woman pleaded not guilty. She was incriminated by a Slovakian convicted of drug trafficking who refused to testify in the jury trial. The verdict is not final because the defense made no statement.

The defendant was found guilty of having organized the import of cocaine into Austria using smuggling vehicles as a member of a criminal organization for several years – until at least July 2022 – by handing over the drug to couriers and instructing them to pass it on to large buyers. At least 50 kilos at a price of 38,000 euros each are said to have gone to a man who has since been legally convicted – the head of a Slovakian group.

• Also read: How a gang smuggled 134 kilograms of cocaine in wooden boards

In addition, the suspect is said to have traveled to Colombia with the Slovakian in February 2019 to organize the smuggling of another 50 kilos of cocaine by ship to Europe. According to the prosecution, however, it remained an attempt.

“I have nothing to do with drug trafficking”

The defense attorney saw “no solid evidence” against his client. The defendant grew up in poor conditions in Colombia and – as a single mother – worked as a hairdresser, beautician and sex worker in The Hague. The prosecution witness falsely accused his client. “He saw me as the suitable victim to save his own skin,” said the 50-year-old through tears. She has nothing to do with drug trafficking.

According to the interpreter, the defendant stated that she met the Slovakian in The Hague in 2017 and that he used her services as a prostitute. We stayed in touch via cell phone and met again and again in hotels in the Netherlands and Austria, among others. She went on vacation with her husband in Colombia. When he wanted to visit a drug laboratory there, “I said it was something extremely dangerous,” said the accused.

Deal with the judiciary hoped for

The Slovakian was brought in from custody but did not want to give a witness statement. The man had apparently hoped for a deal with the judiciary after his arrest in 2022, but was informed, according to police, that this did not exist. At that time, he did not want to provide any information in an official interview with the accused. His extensive testimony was recorded in a memo, two officials said on the witness stand.

According to the police, the Spanish-Colombian dual citizen wanted under a European arrest warrant was arrested in Amsterdam in November 2023. According to the executive, investigations are still underway into the woman’s suspected accomplice.

The 50-year-old was investigated after Operation “Joker”, during which a total of 32 suspects were arrested in Austria, Slovakia and Hungary in July 2022. The accused are said to have sold drugs with a street value of more than 21 million euros, and almost 300 kilograms of addictive substances were confiscated. Four accused men who previously lived in Austria were sentenced to several years in prison in Korneuburg in 2023.

This article was updated at 12:40 p.m.

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