Two Swiss men extradited to the U.S. in drug case
New York. Thomas F. and Andrea V. had both their hands and feet handcuffed when they climbed in the commercial aircraft on Friday August Friday 24 in Amsterdam. Their final destination was the detention center in Alexandria (VA), where they are currently being held according to information gathered by the.point.is. news agency. Both young men from Lausanne (Switzerland) were extradited from Holland after a lengthy legal battle. They are accused to have played a role in the shipment of a package containing 10,000 Ecstasy pills obtained in the Netherlands to the United States and may face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Mr F., a former bike rider, and Mr V. were arrested on June 1 2006 in Amsterdam as part of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s “Operation Director’s Cut” after a two-year undercover investigation into international money laundering. That same day, A.B., 36, of Los Angeles, California, and Geneva, and B.E., 45, of Los Angeles, were caught in a hotel in Arlington. According to US authorities, A.B. and B.E. arranged in February 2006 the shipment of a package containing 10,000 Ecstasy pills obtained in the Netherlands to the United States. A.B. plead guilty and was sentenced on January 8 to 240 months in prison. B.E. will spend the next 15 years of his life in a federal penitentiary. On August 29, Frischknecht’s parents had not yet been able to speak with their son. According to a source, a diplomat from the Swiss embassy in Washington DC has been able to visit F. and V. on Tuesday August 28. The Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs could not confirm this information but said that Swiss authorities had been in touch with the two men. Speaking on August 28 on the phone from his home in the Zurich area, Hans F., Mr F.’s father was angry and devastated. “It is a scandal, he said in an interview with the.point.is. news agency. My son and Andrea are the victims of a plot. A.B. introduced them to a guy named “Joe” (who was an undercover agent working for the DEA), who introduced himself as a member of the Columbian mafia. The two students were afraid of him”. According to Mr F., the undercover agent threatened and badgered his son and his son’s sister for months before Thomas F. gave in and accepted to go to Amsterdam to find a dealer who could provide the 10,000 ecstasy pills to be sent to the US. “He thought this Joe would harassing him if he did what he was asked to do”, Hans F. added. In Lausanne, Hilde M., Mr. F.’s mother, spoke about the difficulties her family is now facing. “We do not know what to do, she said. Thomas has not got any lawyer. To hire one in the US is very expensive”. The.point.is news agency contacted the DEA and the US attorney but has yet to receive any conclusive answer. Maria van den Toorn, Mr F.’s lawyer in the Netherlands is also waiting for news on the case before hopping on a flight to Washington. “I met him last Thursday, the day before he was taken to the US, she said. He was lost. I asked him to call me as soon as he could. He promised to me he would do it but I have not heard from him yet”. The Dutch lawyer criticized her own government: “I have never seen that in 30 years, she said. Our Justice minister agreed to the extradition but only on the condition that US authorities would not use the tapes of the arrest of both men because they are considered to be illegal.” She added that the Dutch man who had been arrested that same day with Mr F. and Mr V., was freed after a Dutch judge found that his rights had been violated. In a recent interview with the.point.is from his prison in Holland, Thomas F. said he was hoping for a plea agreement. Maria van den Toorn did not know what to think about such a statement. “When I last saw him, he did not know whom to trust any more”. Jean-Cosme Delaloye / New York CommentsYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
||
 |
 |
 |
