Kralendijk – On 15 August, the Court of First Instance on Bonaire sentenced four men to import 12.7 kilograms of marijuana and to hold 200 cartridges. The drugs and ammunition turned out to be from Venezuela and were brought in by boat.

Two of the men are from Bonaire as well as the used boat. The other two men were from Venezuela. The Coast Guard contacted the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee on Bonaire. Three of the men were found in the mangrove in collaboration with Customs. The captain of the boat was later arrested. The boat was seized.

The four men were sentenced to 2 years in prison. Part of it, 6 months, was conditionally imposed with a probationary period of three years. Also on appeal, on 28 November 2019, at the request of the Public Prosecution Service, the General Court pronounced the confiscation of the boat. The boat and its captain are indispensable and therefore important links for the import of prohibited goods and illegal aliens. The forfeiture of the boat, an extra punishment to the address of the captain, can therefore be properly defended from that point of view.

The boat was destroyed today. The Prosecutor’s office hope that the action taken by authorities will be a warning to other boat owners.