BREDA – The Public Prosecution Service suspects former professional footballer Ronnie S. (40) of cocaine trafficking and money laundering. In the court in Breda on Thursday, the public prosecutor listed the suspicions, which together amount to 2217 kilos of cocaine. S. was not present in court.
The former NAC Breda and FC Twente player was arrested early on June 10 with several members of his family on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering in the period 2021 and 2022. The police base the suspicion on decrypted conversations between criminals via the hacked messaging service Sky ECC.
After the arrests, the police searched six homes and a camper and found 100,000 euros in cash. The money found was seized, as well as bank accounts, six luxury watches, three vehicles, jewelry, fitness equipment, three homes and a yacht.
Parents, brother and girlfriend also suspects
S. from Eindhoven is the only one of the five family members who is still in custody. The other suspects in this case are S.’s parents, his girlfriend and brother.
S.’s lawyer made it clear in court that S. is being threatened. For example, there were said to have been two attacks on a house where his children were sleeping. In vain, the lawyer asked the court to end S.’s pre-trial detention. This is because the case is likely to take a long time and the suspicions are from several years ago.
Dubai
The public prosecutor opposed this and fears that he will flee to Dubai, where his brother is also said to be staying after a previous conviction earlier this year. “It also involves hundreds of kilos each time. Then I conclude that S. was a major player in the drug world,” said the prosecutor.
The next hearing is scheduled for November 28. It is not yet known when the case can be heard on the merits. However, the prosecutor announced that S. will be tried at the same time as his brother, who is still at large.
S. played football at NAC until 2016 and became national champion at FC Twente in 2010. He was also under contract with Standard Liège in Belgium and Wigan Athletic in England.
