An effective international cooperation that would not have been possible without the BeNeLux treaty. A treaty primarily intended to improve cooperation in sharing (police) data and to expand the possibilities for cross-border exercise of powers.
The Operational Center was, as often, the place where this major investigation would start on Wednesday evening. It began with a report around 10:00 PM. A woman was reportedly taken against her will and with force from a home in Voerendaal. Based on integrated cooperation with other agencies and discussions with involved parties, a clear picture of the situation was quickly formed.
Fast and decisive investigation
The situation was assessed as so serious that the Public Prosecution Service and Police in Limburg escalated to a Large-scale Investigation Team that same evening. Thanks to fast and decisive investigation and the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), there was suspicion that the victim was being held against her will in Belgium. Direct contact was made with Belgian colleagues. Police from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg can easily and better cooperate across borders thanks to the BeNeLux treaty. An important part of safety and the sense of security for citizens and in being able to act quickly and effectively on each others territory. Of essential importance in a province like Limburg, which borders only 30% on the Netherlands and the rest on Germany and Belgium. This was also evident in this investigation.
Deployment of specialist services
In cooperation with the Belgian police, the Belgian Public Prosecutors Office, and the Dutch liaison in Brussels, forces were combined. Police negotiators and various investigative resources were deployed, and specialist services such as the Observation Team and Arrest Team were also escalated. The safety of the victim was the continuous priority of the investigation. This led to a decision under high time pressure to carry out an intervention. The Dutch Special Intervention Service ultimately executed this intervention under the direction of the Belgian police and in consultation with the National and Belgian Public Prosecutors Offices at 6:00 AM Thursday morning in Maasmechelen.
Arrest
The victim, a 21-year-old woman from Heerlen, was found in the home in Maasmechelen. She was unharmed. The suspect, a 22-year-old man from Meerssen, was arrested on suspicion of deprivation of liberty and is still detained in Belgium. Dutch and Belgian police and justice look back on a successful international cooperation, in which the BeNeLux treaty proved indispensable for fast and decisive action.