Rudy Van Rillaer and John de Bruin, the CEO and operational manager of PostNL in Belgium, have been released from pre-trial detention. That is what the investigating judge has decided. The two closed depots of the Dutch postal company were also released.
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Rudy Van Rillaer and John de Bruin, respectively the CEO and operational manager of PostNL in Belgium, were arrested a week and a half ago after the court invaded three Belgian depots of the Dutch parcel company. They are suspected of human trafficking, forgery, prohibited posting and leading a criminal organization. The manager of the PostNL depot in Willebroek was also arrested, and the investigating judge had two of the three depots sealed.
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The three appeared before the council chamber on Friday. He had granted the release of Van Rillaer (under conditions) and the two other PostNL employees (without conditions). But because the labor prosecutor had appealed Monday’s release Van Rillaer and De Bruin – only depot manager JA was released – they had to wait in jail until they appeared before the indictment chamber.
Depots open again
Normally that can take up to 15 days, but on Wednesday the investigating judge ruled that they can leave the prison. That happened after a question by the lawyers of both suspects. The decision is ‘motivated by the current state of the file, now that the necessary research data have been made available’, says the public prosecutor, which has declined to comment further. According to our sources, the public prosecutor first wanted to obtain certain data from PostNL.
Van Rillaer and De Bruin are bound by conditions, of which a contact ban would be the most important, says John Maes, lawyer for De Bruin. The two sealed PostNL depots, in Wommelgem and Willebroek, were also released on Wednesday.
Subcontractors
The Dutch postal company already came under the attention of the court last year, after inspections at depots repeatedly found infringements of parcel couriers. They are not directly employed by PostNL, but work as independent subcontractors or are employed by a subcontractor. These included undeclared work and the employment of undocumented migrants. The public prosecutor then decided to initiate criminal proceedings against, among others, PostNL and Van Rillaer – but not yet John de Bruin. That case was to be heard in September. It is unclear whether the current investigation will lead to a new criminal case.
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PostNL says it is ‘extremely relieved’ that they can ‘finally go home’. “They have been detained in difficult circumstances for the past few days. That has had a very big impact on them, on their families and on all our colleagues.’ In the meantime, the company is working on a logistics catch-up operation to deliver or return the parcels that were stuck in the two depots.
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