Latest news with #DeTelegraaf
Sunday World
4 days ago
- Sunday World
Prosecutors demand nine year sentence for Kinahan associate drug lord Mink Kok
The 63-year-old is trying to overturn a 2023 drug smuggling conviction Prosecutors in the Netherlands have demanded Kinahan associate and drug lord Mink Kok receive a nine-year prison sentence for his role in smuggling drugs into the country. It comes as the 63-year-old appealed his conviction at the court of appeal at The Hague on Wednesday. He was handed down a six-year sentence in June 2023 after he was found guilty for his role in smuggling 400 kilos of cocaine into the Netherlands in a shipment of bananas. The consignment arrived in 2020 via the port of Antwerp but was somehow mislaid and was eventually found at a supermarket in Remscheid, Germany. De Telegraaf reported that the court saw sufficient evidence for a conviction based on intercepted messages on the Sky ECC server. His lawyer, Mark Teurlings, has pleaded for his client to be acquitted. He claims that there is insufficient evidence to prove that the encrypted text messages were sent by Kok. He also claimed that the link between Kok and the banana shipment is 'factually and substantively untenable.' Mink Kok News in 90 Seconds - 6th June 2025 The hearing will continue next Wednesday. According to De Telegraaf 'the [encrypted] messages discuss, among other things, amounts of money and order lists.' 'In its ruling, the court refers to raw materials and chemicals and blocks of cocaine and cocaine base, payments and locations and required personnel (cooks). "He had a leading and coordinating role," the court said. 'In addition, he had a leading role in setting up what appears to be a large-scale drug lab, given the amounts paid and quantities of chemicals purchased.' The Dutch Public Prosecution Service had previously demanded nine years in prison for Kok but the sentence was lowered as there was insufficient evidence that he also had another batch of drugs in his possession. The convicted drug trafficker and gun runner, one of the most infamous gangland criminals in Dutch history, had struck up a close working relationship with Christy Kinahan Snr when they were both based in Amsterdam in the 1990s. It is believed the pair worked together to import millions of euro worth of cocaine and ecstasy into Ireland and the UK. Kok's son-in-law, named only as Najim Z is also accused by the Public Prosecution Service of being behind the importation from South America of two batches of 750 and 840 kilos of cocaine. These were intercepted in 2021 in the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam. Najim Z (42) was previously sentenced for those two coke shipments in a separate case. He was handed down an eight-year prison sentence minus time spent in pre-detention and a detention period in Lebanon. However, prosecutors have demanded another 12 years in prison against him two weeks ago in the case which is completely separate from that of Kok's. According to the justice officials, evidence against Kok stems from intercepted Sky ECC messages. Justice officials say they can prove that there was intensive contact between Sky phones that are attributed to Z and Mink Kok, who were both arrested in Lebanon at the end of March 2022. There was no Sky telephone found with Kok when he was arrested, but detectives say that the investigation against Kok started after he admitted to a TV programme that he used Sky telephones to communicate with others. His lawyer previously denied that Kok was the user of the two Sky phones attributed to him. 'In the messages we clearly read that the user of the telephone would be in the Netherlands, even in Amsterdam,' Teurlings has been quoted as saying. 'So the user could never have been Kok because he was in Lebanon at the time.' Various media have referred to Najim Z based on various judicial or police sources as a 'leader' in Ridouan Taghi's network. Dutch-Moroccan Taghi is regarded as one of Europe's biggest drugs traffickers and is a key associate of the Kinahan Cartel. He was one of a number of high-profile criminals who were guests at Daniel Kinahan's wedding in Dubai in 2017. Along with a number of his associates, Taghi is currently facing multiple charges ranging from assassinations, attempted killings and murder plots. Lawyers for Z have previously contested that their client should be considered as 'the financial man' in Taghi's drug network, as the Public Prosecutor believes.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Parrott price tag: AZ aim high amidst Premier League interest
AZ are hopeful of breaking the outgoing transfer record this summer. According to De Telegraaf (via VoetbalPrimeur) the Alkmaarders want a large sum for Troy Parrott, who is enjoying interest from newly promoted Premier League club Leeds United. Due to the development of Mexx Meerdink, who scored a hat-trick against sc Heerenveen on Thursday, it isn't ridiculous to suggest that AZ will cooperate in Parrott's departure. The 23-year-old Irishman came over from Tottenham Hotspur last summer for four million euros, but is expected to bring a much larger profit. Advertisement Freshly promoted Leeds United have reportedly been told that Parrott is worth no less than thirty million euros, according to De Telegraaf. While Leeds believe that price is too high for their liking, Parrott has still scored 20 goals and provided five assists in 46 official matches this season, meriting a gamble of such proportions. In the meantime, AZ coach Maarten Martens did not want to say who would be in the starting line-up for Sunday's play-off final against FC Twente. It seems that the Irish international's recovery from injury and Meerdink's recent purple patch gives the Belgian manager a selection dilemma. Currently, the outgoing transfer record at AZ is held by Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who left for Brighton in 2018 for 22.5 million euros. Vincent Janssen follows in second place with his transfer to Tottenham worth 22 million, while Tijjani Reijnders brought in 20.5 million with his transfer to AC Milan. GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Tourist is charged £1,200 for two drinks and a packet of crisps in Mexico
A hapless tourist believes he may have been scammed after paying 100 times the right amount for two drinks and a bag of chips while abroad in Mexico - and his bank is refusing to pay him back. The distressed Dutch holidaymaker was supposed to pay 310 Mexican pesos, equivalent to £12 for the light snack. But two '0's were erroneously added to the amount, bringing the total to 31,000 pesos or £1,200. The customer insists he checked the amount on the card machine before entering his PIN code and approving the amount - and has now concluded either the machine was faulty or he was defrauded by the seller. But Rabobank said it will not compensate him, because he 'authorised' the payment by entering his PIN number - even if it was 'under false pretenses'. Now Kifid, the Dutch body responsible for dealing with financial disputes, has ruled in favour of the bank, De Telegraaf reported. In its decision, Kifid stated: 'It is understandable that the consumer finds the amount too high for two drinks and a bag of chips and would never have agreed to this amount if he had known. 'But that does not mean that he has not legally agreed to the payment.' The tourist argued that the bank should have flagged such a large payment coming out of his account while abroad, but the ombudsman said the bank could not be blamed for the incident. It added: 'The mere fact that the transaction may have been unusual for the consumer does not mean that the bank was aware of it and should have intervened.' Unfortunately for the tourist, he will now not see a penny back from the amount taken. The Dutch holidaymaker is just the latest example of how even the most cautious traveller can be caught off-guard by a conniving swindler. Other scams that tourists have become caught up in include taxi drivers who claim their meter is broken before then charging a hefty fee, as well as overpaying in currency they are unfamiliar with to dishonest sellers. Tourists have also reported distraction tactics, such as being approached in a restaurant by someone with a handwritten note, only to then find their phone or other valuables have been stolen as they take the time to read it. Some have also reported buying tickets for a boat tour or day trip, only to then find the 'organiser' never turns up to the designated meeting point.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Possible Paixão departure from Feyenoord discussed: ‘It's in God's hands'
As per VoetbalPrimeur, Igor Paixão's may be in his final weeks at Feyenoord. In an interview with De Telegraaf, the 24-year-old Brazilian spoke about how likely a departure from De Kuip may be Paixão is in his third season at Feyenoord. The morning paper outlined that 'at least 35 million euros' must be put on the table for the winger to leave Rotterdam. Clubs from Italy, Spain and England reportedly have him in their sights. Advertisement 'I don't even want to think about it yet. I'm doing really well at Feyenood. If it happens, then it will happen. It's in God's hands.' Rotterdam and Het Legioen have earned a place in Paixão's heart. 'Thanks to the supporters here, I can honestly say that I felt at home here so quickly. It was quite a transition from Brazil. A different language, a completely different climate, a different culture. But those guys in the stands gave me such a warm welcome. I really want to repay them every week with a big smile and with goals. The same goes for the people at the club. Everyone is good to me.' Paixão recently told Brazilian media that he wants to play for Flamengo one day. The attacker was asked by the morning outlet whether he would choose a European top club or Flamengo, if the club came calling. 'You know where my heart is, right?', laughed Paixão. 'Flamengo is the club of my entire family…' GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield
Gulf Insider
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Dutch MPs Push to Ban Amplified Islamic Prayer Calls
Two minor conservative parties in the Netherlands, the SGP and JA21, have tabled a private members' bill aiming to ban amplified Islamic calls to prayer in residential areas, arguing that the practice is increasingly at odds with Dutch cultural norms. The proposed legislation, submitted by SGP MP André Flach and JA21 leader Joost Eerdmans, targets the growing use of loudspeakers in mosques to broadcast the adhan — the Islamic call to prayer — across neighborhoods. While amplified calls were rare until the 1990s, the MPs claim they are now heard in dozens of communities nationwide, 'from Amsterdam to Alblasserdam.' 'It doesn't fit in with Dutch culture,' Flach said, as cited by De Telegraaf newspaper. He noted that current broadcasts loudly proclaim religious texts such as 'Allah is the greatest' and 'there is no other god but Allah' several times a day. He argued that when laws were changed in 1988 to allow amplified religious calls under the Public Manifestations Act, lawmakers did not anticipate how pervasive and loud such calls might become. Eerdmans expressed equal concern over the trend, pointing to what he sees as a steady increase in Islamic practice seeping into the Dutch way of life. 'Today, around 40 mosques play the adhan on Fridays, but with about 500 mosques in the Netherlands and that number growing, how many will there be in 10 years?' In some neighborhoods, 'you really feel like you're in Istanbul or Marrakesh,' he added. The MPs also cited a poll commissioned from researcher Maurice de Hond, which claims that nearly 80 percent of Dutch citizens view amplified calls to prayer as inconsistent with Dutch culture and find them bothersome. While the government had already signaled plans to tighten regulations on amplified prayer calls earlier this year, Flach and Eerdmans are pushing for a complete ban on sound amplification for such broadcasts. 'This is not about restricting freedom of religion,' Flach insisted. 'People can still make the call to prayer, just without sound amplification. The current law simply lacks the word 'unamplified' — and we are adding it,' he said. In a statement, JA21 wrote, 'More and more Dutch streets are drowned out by amplified Islamic calls to prayer. The public space belongs to everyone – the mosque does not have to rise above it. That is why JA21 and SGP are submitting a private members' bill to ban the reinforced call.' The proposal follows earlier statements by Integration Secretary Jurgen Nobel, who in February pledged to review existing legislation to better manage noise disturbances from amplified religious expressions. Supporters argue that the measure would restore balance and respond to long-standing complaints from residents in affected areas. The bill will now move to parliamentary debate. Also read: US Tells Israel It Will Begin Drawdown Of Troops In Syria
