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Croiset the Clairvoyant - Jack Harrison Pollack

The Coffee Smugglers

On November 10, 1952, Mr. A. M. den Hollander, Chief of the Netherlands Customs Investigation Department in Enschede, where Gerard Croiset was then living, had a session with him.

Mr. den Hollander showed the sensitive a photograph of a man whom he suspected of fraudulent dealings in coffee and asked, "Can you tell me anything about him?" Croiset did not know the man, nor did the customs official volunteer any information.

After gazing at and touching the photograph, Croiset quickly stated: "This man is a smuggler. He has two collaborators in Enschede. [Correct. The customs official knew this during the consultation.]

"He also works with a man living in Amsterdam and one in Drente. [Correct. The customs official also knew this.]

He does business with someone who lives in Antwerp." [Correct, The customs official didn't know this, but intercepted correspondence later revealed it to be true.]

Mr. den Hollander showed some scarves to Croiset. "These scarves come from Duisburg," the clairvoyant promptly asserted. Though not then known to the customs inspector, investigation confirmed that the scarves had come from Duisburg, Germany.

The customs official then showed a picture of the suspected Amsterdam smuggler to Croiset.

"This is the man I mentioned from Amsterdam," exclaimed the sensitive. "He has a stomach disorder and belches a lot. [Though this man did, indeed, belch frequently, Dr. Tenhaeff could not discover whether he had a stomach Disorder.]

"Goods have also arrived from Brabant. They have not been transported by car but by train. [Though this wasn’t known by the customs official during the consultation, afterwards he learned that the suspect had sent a huge quantity of coats from Germany by train to Enschede.l

"The coffee has not disappeared across smugglers' trails, but normally through the customs barriers. [This fact was also unknown during the consultation. Mr. den Hollander later discovered that part of the coffee passed the border through the usual barriers, hidden in a limousine.]

'"The coffee is only a small part of all the things the man has smuggled. The coffee has not been taken far into Germany, but has remained between Gronau and Munster. I see the Bagno [public baths] in Burgsteinfurt. [Correct. Later inquiry proved that part of the smuggled coffee was handed to a waiting German in the Bagno at Burgsteinfurt.]

"Part of the contraband was carried in a truck across the border by a forwarding agent. [Though the customs department found neither the truck nor the driver, it learned later that a forwarding agent had legally exported goods for the combine.]

"I have the impression that the man from Amsterdam has a secret hiding place. It is behind a picture hanging over a sideboard." ["We could not find that hiding place," reports the Enschede customs official. "But it is our firm conviction that the man from Amsterdam has been of greater importance in this case than we could prove so far."]

Five months later, on April 11, 1953, Mr. den Hollander gratefully wrote to Professor Tenhaeff thanking him for the invaluable help of Gerard Croiset in cracking this case; in disclosing exactly how the smuggling ring operated; and for furnishing key information that the customs department didn't have.

"Croiset's impressions proved correct on almost all points,” summarized the professor. "This became evident after the consultation took place."