Dutch drug smuggler gets 11 years

A Dutch woman and an Icelandic man have been sentenced to a total of sixteen years in prison for attempting to smuggle 20 kg of amphetamines, cocaine and MDMA into Iceland.

Mirjam Foekje van Twuijver flew in to Iceland from Amsterdam with her daughter on 3 April this year. The pair were arrested in connection with smuggling the drugs (10 kg of MDMA, 9 kg of amphetamines and 200 g of cocaine) into Iceland and were remanded in custody.

Shortly after their arrest, Atli Freyr Fjöln­is­son was arrested for receiving the illegal consignment and planning to pass the drugs on to unnamed dealers. The daughter was never charged and has since left Iceland.

Reykjanes District Court yesterday sentenced van Twuijver to eleven years in prison, one of the toughest sentences ever handed out in Iceland for a drugs-related offence. Fjöln­is­son was given five years.

It is not yet known whether the sentences will be appealed.