Have the police been negligent in a lengthy undercover operation in which an undercover agent took his own life? An independent report on the case will be released today.
For more than a year, an agent codenamed A-4265 visited an alleged criminal from Brabant. Normally, such an operation takes a few months. Insiders speak of an operation that got out of hand, where the pressure on the officer was increased too much and proper supervision was lacking.
The report is expected to draw critical conclusions about the police’s working methods. This fits in with a series of other studies on abuses at the National Unit, the police unit that also includes the undercover operations.
jovial neighbor
The case in Brabant revolves around a group that is said to have been involved in cocaine transport. A name that came up was that of 46-year-old Joop M. from Zevenbergschen Hoek. He is said to have corrupt contacts in the port of Vlissingen.
In January 2020, the police therefore started an undercover operation. For 550,000 euros, the police bought the house next to that of Joop M., a detached house in a quiet new neighborhood.
There A-4265 took up residence, an experienced undercover agent who would begin his last assignment with this. Under the name Peter-Paul Bakker he pretended to be the jovial new neighbour.
A-4265 managed to establish excellent contact with Joop M. and his partner Debbie. They got together a lot and he even helped their 10-year-old son with his homework.
Corruption
Six months later, in July 2020, a series of arrests followed for drug trafficking and corruption in the port of Vlissingen. Joop M.’s house was also searched.
The Public Prosecution Service thinks he was involved in the smuggling of many hundreds of kilos of cocaine and the transit of a consignment to Germany. He was also accused of money laundering. A few months later, Joop M. was arrested himself.
But despite his arrest, the undercover operation continued. The police hoped that ‘Peter-Paul’ could learn more about corruption in the port. Usually an undercover operation only lasts a few months, in Zevenbergschen Hoek the operation expanded to more than a year.
Daily newspaper BN/De Stem described rather, how the pressure on A-4265 continued to mount, how he became conscientious about a fling with Debbie, and how he felt abandoned by executives at work. Several sources confirm this picture.
malpractice
In April 2021 it became ‘Peter-Paul’ too much. He committed suicide in the house in Zevenbergschen Hoek. This not only brought an abrupt end to the life of a appreciated police officer, also the existence of the covert operation leaked out.
In addition, more and more noises leaked out about malpractice at the department responsible for covert police operations. Through unions, undercover agents complained about a great distrust of the leadership, a culture of accounting and poor supervision of employees.
The case of A-4265 is also not the only suicide among the National Police Unit. Two other employees of this police unit also took their own lives after complaints about a bad working atmosphere.
The ongoing unrest has now led to the transfer of several managers and also the top boss of the National Unit has announced her departure. After the report on the case of the infiltrator, an investigation into the functioning of the entire specialist police service will soon follow.
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