WILLEMSTAD – Encrypted PGP communications attributed to Shurendy “Tyson” Quant could become crucial to the Public Prosecutor’s Office as it attempts to prove that the alleged No Limit Soldiers leader personally helped order the deadly Hato Airport shooting in 2014.
Prosecutors allege that Quant and fellow NLS leader Urvin “Nuto” Wawoe offered ANG 1 million for the killing of Erwin “Djais” Juliana, leader of the rival Buena Vista City gang.
Juliana and Shentley “Champi” Arnhem were killed when gunmen opened fire at Curaçao International Airport on July 15, 2014. Seven other people were injured.
The prosecution has previously argued that the attack was ordered by the leadership of NLS amid a violent conflict with BVC.
But the earlier criminal case against Wawoe demonstrates that proving an order came generally from the leadership of a criminal organization is not necessarily enough to establish the individual criminal responsibility of a specific leader.
Strong Indications Were Not Enough Against Wawoe
During Wawoe’s case, the court found strong indications that he was one of the people behind the Hato attack.
One incriminating statement came from a person who said he had heard from those who carried out the attack that Wawoe and another NLS leader paid for the killing through an intermediary.
However, that amounted to hearsay, and the court found there was insufficient additional concrete evidence personally connecting Wawoe to the murder order.
Although Wawoe was sentenced to life imprisonment for other crimes and his leadership of NLS, he was not convicted of commissioning the Hato shooting.
That distinction creates an important evidentiary hurdle in the case against Quant.
Prosecutors will have to establish not simply that Quant was an NLS leader or knew about plans to kill Juliana, but that he personally took concrete steps to instigate the murder.
PGP Evidence Could Be Crucial
During Quant’s first pro forma hearing Monday, the Public Prosecutor’s Office placed considerable emphasis on encrypted PGP communications attributed to him.
The prosecutor told the court there is “no doubt” that Quant was the user of the accounts in question and referred to an extensive identification analysis contained in his personal case file.
The prosecution alleges more broadly that Quant used encrypted communications to discuss targets, payments and murder plots.
The critical question in relation to Hato, however, will be whether those messages directly connect Quant to the alleged ANG 1 million payment and the instruction to murder Juliana.
The prosecution did not fully present that evidence during Monday’s hearing because the case is not yet being considered on its merits.
Defense Wants Entire Communications Dataset
Quant’s defense is already preparing to scrutinize the digital evidence.
His attorneys have requested access to the complete dataset of messages obtained during the Themis investigation rather than only the communications selected by prosecutors for use as evidence.
The defense wants to examine how the accounts were attributed to Quant, how prosecutors selected particular messages and whether those communications have been presented in their proper context.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has not opposed providing access to the complete dataset.
Quant exercised his right to remain silent Monday and has not yet responded substantively to the allegations.
The next pro forma hearing is scheduled for November 27.
As the case progresses, the encrypted communications could determine whether prosecutors can establish the individual link that was missing in the Hato allegations against Wawoe: evidence that Quant himself ordered, financed or otherwise instigated the 2014 assassination.