Suspects in the Themis investigation before the Judge
On Monday, May 9, 2022, the substantive hearing of the criminal case against four suspects in the Themis investigation started before the Court of First Instance. These are 41 year old R.L., 37 year old S.P., 49 year old C.L. and 35 year old A.E. who were arrested in November 2020, February 2021, and March 2021 in Curaçao. Three of the suspects have been in pre-trial detention since their arrest. From Monday, May 9 through Friday, May 13, the criminal cases against them will be tried before the Court.
The suspects are suspected of being part of an organization that calls itself the No Limit Soldiers (NLS). The prosecution suspects the NLS of being a criminal alliance. According to the Public Prosecutor's suspicions, the alliance was involved in narcotics trafficking for an extended period of time and is held responsible for several murders committed in Curaçao, Sint Maarten and in the Netherlands. Other offenses the suspects are accused of and which will be tried before the Court, concern the instigation of two murders on St. Maarten, the instigation of extortion and money laundering. One of the suspects is also on trial for various drug offenses including a 172 kilo cocaine transport from the port of Curaçao to the port of Le Havre in France.
In the Themis case, an investigation was carried out into criminal offenses committed in the past few years in the various countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and abroad. Especially for this investigation a detective team was formed, consisting of members of the police forces of Sint Maarten, Curaçao, Aruba and the Recherche Samenwerkingsteam (RST). This investigation team is led by the Public Prosecutor Sint Maarten and the Public Prosecutor Curaçao.