WILLEMSTAD - After almost seven years, the court in Willemstad has still not finalized the case of the confiscated aircraft. The aircraft departed on January 12 this year, according to plane spotters, to the U.S.
The Public Prosecution Service that ordered the confiscation of the aircraft was not available for comments on the case.
The plane was seized in October 2016 after it was allegedly used for a drug transport of 289 kilograms of cocaine. Almost seven years later, the Public Prosecution Service is still after the suspects.
Three suspects were tried earlier, the fourth suspect was tried last week.
It concerns Anthony Bahjan, who is defended by lawyer Eldon 'Peppie' Sulvaran. According to the counsel, the Public Prosecution Service must be declared inadmissible due to irregularities in the extradition of his client by Colombia to Curaçao.
Original case
The three previous suspects were arrested by the police in 2016 in the parking lot of Hato Airport. The trio planned to use a private plane for the drug transport. Police investigations revealed that the drugs were likely destined for the city of Istanbul in Turkey.
The original case was heard on September 7, 2018, where the suspected pilot Metin Timucin (52) received six years and Elton W. (41), who worked at Hato from Curaçao, also received six years unconditionally. The third suspect Kazim Alemdag (54) received five years.
The prosecution was allowed by the court to forfeit a firearm with ammunition and the 1989 22-seat Canadair jet. The jet was reportedly owned by a company that belonged to pilot Timucin.
The plane would be worth about $3 million and the prosecution would auction the aircraft for almost $1.8 million. That never happened.
NLS
This week, the fourth suspect, Anthony Bhajan, a 56-year-old Guyanese man born on January 21, 1967, in Georgetown, Guyana, went on trial. Prosecutor Eva Bos brought a new twist to the case after six years. According to Bos, the Guyanese man was a member of the NLS organization. She also linked the presence of 289 kilos of cocaine to the criminal organization in Curaçao.
The Public Prosecution Service suspects Bhajan of being an active member of the No Limit Soldiers gang. The officer deduces this from several recorded conversations after NLS's PGP system was hacked. It concerns conversations with NLS'er Tyson Quandt.
In addition to compiling the conversations, a photo showed Bhajan with three other individuals, one of which was Tyson Quandt.
More information
The Public Prosecutor presented Bhajan with more information that the Public Prosecution Service is using to prosecute him. One of them is his nickname Indjan. The Public Prosecution Service believes that in the recorded conversations via PGP, drug trafficking and murder cases were discussed.
During conversations about the illegal activities of NLS, the name Indjan came up and became related to Toni, his pet name. Bhajan denied both nicknames.
The Public Prosecution Service suspects Bhajan of participating in many drug shipments by air and sea, including in containers. It has been confirmed that Bhajan traveled to the United Arab Emirates where he allegedly met Tyson Quandt, Bhajan also denied that.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, various matters were discussed in the PGP talks, including payments to politicians in Sint Maarten. Bhajan denied all these allegations.
The Public Prosecution Service presented a list of invitations to Evi Hato's funeral. On it was Quandt's name and "Indjan", who according to the Public Prosecution Service is Bhajan. Prosecutor Bos said there were PGP conversations that identified Bhajan as a confidant of Tyson Quandt.
The Public Prosecution Service demanded seven years in prison. The ruling, in this case, is in three weeks.