Dutch drug sellers get 5-year prison terms in Hungary

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Two Dutch men have been sentenced to five years in prison for selling drugs at a popular Budapest music festival last summer, a Hungarian court ruled Monday

Prosecutors had recommended prison sentences of up to 10 years and appealed the court’s decision, seeking longer prison terms. The court ruling also included four-year bans from Hungary for both men once they complete their prison terms.

According to a statement from the Budapest chief prosecutor’s office, the men, both 23, admitted their guilt at Monday’s preparatory court hearing and renounced their right to a trial.

They were arrested in August, when police found 20 kilograms of pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes and ecstasy pills with a street value of around 100 million forints ($315,000), most of them in a small van the men were using which was parked outside the festival grounds

Prosecutors said one of Dutch men bought the drugs in the Netherlands and convinced a friend to travel with him to Hungary to sell them. They printed thousands of price lists of the drugs on colored paper and even including the phone number of one of the men on the adverts, which they distributed at the Sziget Festival, held annually on an island in the Danube River.

Hungarian authorities did not name the suspects but Dutch media have identified one of the men as promising sprinter Roelf Bouwmeester.

Police said the drugs seized would be enough to supply about half the concertgoers on a typical day at the festival.

The Associated Press