Don't order anything form the NL: An update

So, I wrote here that some of my orders form the NL didn't arrive and I got a letter from the police and I had to show up for interrogation today.

Some of you may be interested in an update.

I'm in the Schengen area, but not in the EU. However, after some googling, it seems even in the EU there are some exceptions regarding the privacy of correspondence laws when letters cross borders. In most cases customs seems to be allowed to check mail if it looks suspicious.

It turned out two of my orders (from different NL vendors) where intercepted by customs.

The officer asked me if I knew who placed this order. Of course, I said I didn't know anything about it. They asked me to do a voluntary drug test, which I did and was negative.

Then they were able to get an immediate search warrant for my flat, I've never expected it to go so far.

I went to my flat with four officers and they poked around a bit. They found four pills, which I could easily have hidden if I expected that. But, well, I didn't expect them to get a search warrant for something like this in the first place.

I went back to their office and had to sign the documents.

The case is now transferred to the prosecutor and I expect mail regarding the fine I'll have to pay.

"Lawyer up" would have been kind of pointless and expensive so far (I'm not in the US). If I have to go to the court, which I don't expect, I can still lawyer up.

Also, I have to say that those officers were really nice, just doing their job. Nothing against them. It seemed they were tired of persecuting drug related (consumer) issues as well.


Comments


[12 Points] None:

Yea, had the same problem in Norway. Got different packages from different countries no problem. But the one from NL never showed up, and one day 4 police officers came when I wasn't at home and my then-ex (whom I lived with still) let them search the apartment.

Given the laws in Netherlands, I think there's a higher chance of customs being more wary of letters/shipments from there.


[7 Points] BudgetBuyer:

We should start a sub for exchanging letters to/from Netherlands, in order to dilute success of seizures. I'd get the sketchiest looking mailer, draw a bunch of goofy cartoons on the outside, maybe a pot leaf, and a winking spider on it's dark-web. Then, when it gets intercepted, they tear through five MBB's and a paper decoy only to find some Yank writing to his "pen pal"


[4 Points] thesoundofjets:

Aren't you gonna tell us which country you're from?

Fellow european here. I don't expect something like this to happen in the Schengen area, but it would be nice to know if you'd been ordering from like NL->Finland or something, a route that has so much less mail traffic than, say, NL->Germany, which would make such a route markedly more dangerous, of course.

Edit - went through your past postings and it seems like you're from Switzerland. Oh come on, you shoulda known that country is kinda like an exception to the rule.


[1 Points] lopeor:

I thought you would be from the US, seeing how it is not uncommon in this subreddit for americans to post "advice" directed to the general public when, in reality it is only useful for people in their situation, if useful at all.

Well I see that unfortunately this disease has spread to Europe as well. The problem is not NL. The problem is your country. You have no fucking clue on what the Law is, or how LE works in your country, LET ALONE any other country in the world. This means that your deductions are random. You pick the easy argument and blame the origin of your letter. Let me elaborate on why this argument is flawed:

In summary, you have 0 evidence that NL letters get special treatment. You have a result (inspected letter) and a possible hypothesis (special inspection of Dutch post), within others. But since your explanation is not even proven IN your country, let me please remind you that you are posting on the Internet, accessed by people in less facist countries were privacy is respected and receiving more than one letter from NL a month is not only a possibilty, but a fact, so limiting your advice to people in your area/situation is recommended.


[2 Points] None:

Yeah, I can only recommend to steer clear of NL. Also in scandinavia where I'm from, they intercept so much mail from that country. It doesn't matter how stealthy the vendor is - what they do (at least here) is random raids at the airport where they gather all letters from holland, and if the dog marks the pile, they'll go through every letter. I saw it on tv, yo.

Anyway, of course you should not agree to anything. Deny everything and otherwise don't talk to them - they don't really have a case as long as you're using bitcoins.


[2 Points] Exal51:

Hey, fellow Swiss citizen here. I was in a very similar situation a couple of months ago. I ordered ~100 pills from NL -> CH. Instead of the package I received a letter for an interrogation to a local police station a couple of weeks later. In Switzerland you are obliged to go and answer all their questions. Luckily I could convince them that I don't know about anything. But I tell you: I really needed all my mental strength to go through this. After a couple of months they dropped the charge without further consequences. Lucky me.

Personal learnings: 1.) Don't order from NL anymore. Candy from D is a bit more expensive but so far every order I did came through. Shipping times are better too. 2.) Never use your real address, instead "capture" an empty mailbox in a big office building, install a lock and label it professionally. (Be careful about video surveillance). Change it frequently. 3.) Don't order bigger amounts as you could justify for private consumption. (They won't install surveillance if it's not worth it.) 4.) Inform yourself about their screening methods: They recently installed sophisticated technical equipment (itemiser) and use dogs for suspicious mail. Therefore, vendors with sloppy packaging are a no-go. 5.) Buy bitcoin only with cash.

I hope things turn out not too bad for you. I wish you the best of luck!


[2 Points] supreme_entity:

Well you fucked up 3 ways here, you went to the interrogation, you let them take a * voluntary* drug test, and finally you didn't clean house as soon as you got the letter.


[1 Points] MitalikaSucks:

Thanks for sharing your experience bro


[1 Points] None:

[deleted]


[1 Points] None:

You know if they catch anyone else connected to this that piece of paper you signed?

They can call you as a witness for the prosecution I.e make you appear in court


[1 Points] None:

There should be some kind of package routing service that takes packages from NL and brings them to other EU countries before shipping


[1 Points] julian6:

I often place domestic NL orders, should I worry about this too?


[1 Points] Indesit20:

Received 2 orders from NL this week ! One took 12 days and the other one 7 days.

Vendor stealth best i have seen!!!


[1 Points] ttrravis:

The problem here is that the country you live in the crime rate is low. So the police have got nothing to do. You need to increase the crime rate so that they dont have the time to for something that really is so pointless. Or move to country with a hgher crime rate where 20 pills get passed through without a problem or if they are found LE isnt notified cause the postie has kept them for himself