Showjumper’s father used horsebox to smuggle £4m of cocaine into Britain
A TOP showjumper wept in court yesterday as her father was jailed for smuggling £4million worth of cocaine into Britain in a horsebox.
Horse dealer Mari Van Gerwen, 52, said he had committed the crime partly to fund his 27-yearold daughter Jody’s career.
The talented horsewoman has taken part in numerous international competitions, while her father – a former showjumper like his wife – owns stables and training facilities.
But he was caught by border guards at Dover with 50kg of cocaine hidden in a compartment in his horsebox.
During his trial at Canterbury Crown Court, Van Gerwen claimed he had been forced by a gang to smuggle the Class A drug into the country.
Sentencing him to 17 years in prison, the judge noted that ‘at least part’ of his motivation was to support his daughter’s ‘very expensive career’.
Van Gerwen arrived in Britain in the freight lanes at Dover Eastern Docks with two horses in a horsebox last July, the court heard.
Asked by Border Force officials what the purpose of his visit was, he said the horses were not for jumping or racing and that he was heading to Bracknell, Berkshire, to sell them.
But after officers found 5,000 euros in his pockets they searched the horsebox and discovered the Class A drug. Initially, Van Gerwen denied all knowledge of the cocaine, but after his arrest 270,000 euros in cash was found at his home in Limbricht, 120 miles south-east of Amsterdam.
Judge Rupert Lowe told Van Gerwen he had clearly used his horse business as a cover for drug smuggling and expected to get substantial Competing: Jody Van Gerwen sums of money – much of which he planned to use to help his daughter’s career representing their native Holland at competitions.
The judge said: ‘I accept you run a legitimate horse trading business and you spend a good deal of your time running a riding school and assisting you daughter’s career.
‘You were convicted by a jury in a very short space of time of importing 50 kilos of cocaine. I am confident that you were not the boss of this enterprise but a courier and you got involved in order to make money.
‘This trial took place against a background of the very successful career of your daughter Jody as an international showjumper.
‘That is an extremely expensive occupation, notwithstanding the sponsorship and prize money and the returns of the riding school and horse trading business. I am confident that at least part of your motivation … was to further the cause of her very expensive career at the highest level.’
Miss Van Gerwen, who gave evidence in her father’s defence, was in court for the sentencing. The judge added: ‘I don’t imagine for a moment that he let her know what he was doing. She has been an innocent victim and she will suffer for this.’
Van Gerwen faced a similar charge at Reading Crown Court 18 months ago, after officers in Berkshire found him with 10kg of cocaine and £22,320 in cash, but he was found not guilty.
After this week’s sentencing hearing Darren Herbert of the National Crime Agency said: ‘The organised criminals involved in distribution of cocaine are often linked to violence and exploitation. They rely heavily on smugglers like Van Gerwen … his was a key role in a longer, damaging chain.’