Residents of Beukenlaan in Alphen aan den Rijn were lucky last year: a bag with half a kilo of flash powder (comparable to about 25 hand grenades) was supposed to explode, but the suspects failed to do so. They took the explosive back with them and were shortly thereafter arrested by the police. They appeared in court this week.
The police were called on October 10, 2024, because two individuals wearing balaclavas were seen walking through Alphen aan den Rijn. The two were tracked down and arrested, and they turned out to have a heavy explosive in their backpack. Life-threatening, stated the public prosecutor, if this had exploded due to friction, these boys would not have been around anymore. They were 16 and 17 years old.
In those weeks, there were more violent incidents following the theft of a stolen batch of 1400 kilos of cocaine. Part of it had been stored in the warehouse of an entrepreneur from Alphen, but was also stolen from there. The entrepreneur and his staff were held responsible for this. The explosive the boys were carrying had been attempted to be detonated at the front door of one of the employees shortly before. For unknown reasons, it did not go off, after which they left with it.
Coordination
Investigations into the phones of the young Amsterdam residents revealed Snapchat conversations in which they were provided with information and urged to place the explosive. Two Amsterdam residents aged 17 and 18 also appeared in court this week as so-called brokers. They significantly increased the pressure: Are you guys going to fix that k[...] thing or what? Why is it taking so k[...] long? Good-for-nothings. What the fock are you doing?
The boys were clearly instructed to stuff the package into the mailbox: just push it in, just push it deep in. They were also warned not to be swept with the package in their possession, meaning arrested by the police, but that ultimately did happen.
Juvenile Court
The public prosecutor was clear in court: it is not thanks to the defendants that the residents and neighbors were spared a big bang that night. And then there is still the danger that the two minor executors themselves were walking around transporting the package.
The Public Prosecution Service demanded 120 days of juvenile detention (partly conditional) and 40 hours of community service for the executors. The 17-year-old broker faced 150 days of juvenile detention (of which 76 conditional) and 80 hours of community service. The juvenile court will rule in two weeks. The 18-year-old defendant was prosecuted in the regular court. The Public Prosecution Service demanded a prison sentence of 270 days, of which 71 conditional. He too will hear the verdict from the judge in two weeks.