Many arrests for German bomb raids, half of the suspects from Utrecht

police EssenMuch damage in a bomb raid in Mülheim, Germany, in February

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 13:09

This year, more Dutch people have already been arrested for explosive attacks in Germany than in the whole of last year. A large part of them come from Utrecht.

Today, the Utrecht triangle (OM, police and municipality) is therefore talking to the authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia, the German state most affected by Dutch explosive squatters. The intention is to take more preventive measures.

For example, there is talk of better data exchange, so that explosive squatters who have been detained in Germany can be included in a person-oriented approach upon their return to the Netherlands. Now that information is not always known.

More than 60 arrests

In the whole of last year, the German police arrested 60 Dutch people for committing explosive attacks. At the beginning of this month, 57 Dutch people had already been arrested. Half of these suspects come from Utrecht.

Also this morning, five suspects were arrested during raids in Amsterdam, Helmond and Utrecht. They are said to have committed more than twenty explosive attacks and captured more than a million. The total number of arrests is therefore already higher than the whole of last year.

Field of activity

While the number of explosive attacks in the Netherlands has plummeted due to extra security measures and the removal of ATMs, the number of ATMs being blown up across the border has increased enormously.

In Germany, many payments are still made with cash and there are also many more regional banks with less secure ATMs than in the Netherlands. Criminals have therefore shifted their field of activity.

Last year, 180 vending machines were blown up in North Rhine-Westphalia alone. There were an estimated 450 throughout Germany, a record number.

Because most suspects come from the Netherlands, the police in both countries work closely together. In February, for example, another group was arrested, allegedly responsible for more than 50 explosive attacks in Germany.

Cocainehandel

Criminals from Utrecht have been remarkably active for years with explosive raids across the border. They pass on the knowledge to each other. Recently, another group was convicted that ordered ATMs for practice. One of the suspects was killed in this ‘thud-cracking school’ in the Overvecht district when he tested explosives.

According to Utrecht, preventive measures are also badly needed in addition to detection, because there is always a new influx of young people who commit explosive attacks. The proceeds, an average of one ton per heist, are sometimes used to buy into the cocaine trade.

For a few years now, a person-oriented approach has been in place in the region, which should prevent young people from slipping further down the road. Utrecht also wants to include explosive squatters who have been convicted in Germany in this approach.

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