Mega cannabis cafe trial delayed by photo
Thursday 05 November 2009
The major court case surrounding the Checkpoint cannabis cafe in the border town of Terneuzen was suspended on Thursday after new evidence turned up, Nos tv reports.
A journalist from news agency ANP has given the public prosecution department a photograph featuring the cafe's owner and the former mayor of Teurneuzen together on the Caribbean island of Curacao, Nos says.
ANP does not mention the photograph in its article. ANP does say the judges have called for an additional investigation.
The role of the town council is central to the defence, which is arguing the local authority was well aware how much trade the cafe was doing and took no action. The council even helped the cafe move to new larger premises with a big car park, defence lawyers claim.
The cafe's owner and 15 members of staff have been charged with membership of a criminal organisation and breaking drugs laws.
Officials claim the Checkpoint served up to 3,000 customers a day and sales totalled 10 kg of cannabis. Coffee shops with more than 500 grammes of cannabis on the premises are not covered by the official policy of turning a blind eye to soft drugs.
The public prosecution department estimates the cafe was making profits of at least €10m a year.
For more on this (Dutch only), click here
© DutchNews.nl
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Monday: Between 2º and 5º with light snow or sleet. Around zero at night. Similar Tuesday
Here comes the old "mob" reason for all those coffee shops being evil....well look who has gone island hoping together... I bet they wished they had not mentioned the "mob" on this one. :) The Mob does not work anymore in the USA, so they use the children as the excuse....I bet they wished they had used that one....better yet use them both...and If one proves to be bull they still have another reason in the pot (maybe a bad choice of words)
By alanposting | November 6, 2009 8:20 AM