Dutch hash importer will spend year in Canadian jail

By BETH JOHNSTON The Daily News

A Dutch man who flew to Canada to make some money selling hash will be
spend a year in jail.

Juan Carlos Voorhoeve, 22, was sentenced in Bedford court yesterday for
importing illegal drugs into Canada from the Netherlands.

Voorhoeve looked nervously around the courtroom and twirled his short black
hair as a FrenchEnglish translator interpreted his sentencing.

He was detained at the Halifax International Airport by immigration and
customs officials Oct. 7, after he was seen acting suspicious.

His flight from Amsterdam bound for Toronto was stopped in Halifax. He told
officials he had no money and was on a short trip to Toronto where he had
no family or friends.

He was searched and when officers asked him to lift his sweatshirt they
found body packs full of cannabis resin wrapped around his waist.

"OK, you caught me," he was reported to have said.

After complaining he didn't feel well, he was taken to hospital, where he
later passed a number of plastic packages full of hash he had swallowed.

The total street value of the drugs in his possession totalled $25,000.

Provincial Crown attorney Ray Mitchell said although Voorhoeve had no prior
record in Canada or "any other country" and cannabis resin is a relatively
soft drug, it is important to deter people considering importing drugs into
Canada.

"It must be taken seriously," he said. "Considering the amount of drug, its
value and the importation aspect, the Crown recommends one year
incarceration."

Defence lawyer Ann Copeland said her client, who works in the entertainment
industry, invested in the hashish so he could pay off some "pressing"
bills. She said he chose to come to Canada because it is "so beautiful" and
he had never been here.

"He has a clean record from a country that sees drug possession and
trafficking in a different light" than Canada does.

Copeland said he will have a particularly hard time in jail here because he
has no "support network" of family and friends.

She said he will have a hard time finding employment when he gets home
because he will have lost his business "contacts."

Judge Ray Mitchell told Voorhoeve he knew the consequences of getting
caught before he committed the crime and sentenced him to a year in a
federal institution.