The operation on February 2 stems from a follow-up investigation by the National Investigation and Intervention Unit, under the authority of the National Public Prosecutors Office. Ten individuals were arrested and 14 locations searched in the Rotterdam and The Hague region, including Hoogvliet, Rhoon, Poortugaal, Barendrecht, Rotterdam, Pijnacker, and Zoetermeer.
The arrests involve five men from Hoogvliet aged 42, 37, 33, 23, and 22, a 37-year-old man from Poortugaal, a 46-year-old man from Rotterdam, a 25-year-old man from Zoetermeer, and two men from Pijnacker aged 58 and 36.
During the searches, drugs, a firearm, cash, watches, and vehicles were seized.
Spain
This operation follows an arrest in mid-December in Maassluis and an earlier operation this month in Spain. In Maassluis, a 64-year-old man was arrested in December and multiple firearms and 354kg of amphetamine were seized. The investigation led to a residence in Spain where 190kg of cocaine was seized two weeks ago. Two suspects were arrested there, one with Dutch nationality and one with French nationality.
The 64-year-old man from Maassluis remains in pre-trial detention. Of the ten men arrested last Monday, seven are being brought before the examining magistrate today. The other three men who are not being brought before the magistrate have been released but remain suspects.
Drugs
Drug production and trafficking underlie much of the undermining problems in the Netherlands. This manifests in liquidations, violence, threats, corruption, money laundering, and the mixing of the criminal underworld with the upper world. Therefore, we are cracking down hard on the criminal networks involved in the import, production, and trade of drugs.