Dutch people in prison for years for bomb attacks in Germany

Two Dutchmen were sentenced in Germany to years in prison for their role in explosives raids. The main suspect, a 36-year-old man, will be jailed for 7.5 years. A 29-year-old accomplice was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months. Both punishments comply with the requirements of the Public Prosecutor.

According to German justice, the men belonged to a group of criminals who blew up ATMs across Germany. Specifically, this case involved six explosives raids, committed between February and November 2020. Amounts up to € 104,000 were stolen. The Dutch had confessed, but said nothing about their clients or co-authors during the trial.

The couple was arrested last September. The main suspect arranged cars with car rental companies to escape after the blasts. The man had already been convicted once for his role in a bombing raid; it was in 2017, also in Germany. For this he was sentenced to six years. The judge is counting on him that after his early release, and still wearing an ankle bracelet, he made the mistake again.

The youngest suspect organized supplies and tools for the explosions. According to the court file, the criminals received between 200 and 300 euros for their services for each successful explosive device.

The high penalty was also caused by a fire that broke out after an explosion in Schüttorf in the state of Lower Saxony. As a result, residents of a house above the blown up ATM were trapped. Two adults and a 7-year-old child were rescued by the fire brigade.

Germany has been struggling for a long time with criminal gangs that carry out attacks with explosives. They often come from the Netherlands. In the state of Lower Saxony alone, 53 explosive attacks have been committed up to the beginning of November, almost as many as in the whole of 2021. Record numbers have also been recorded in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which borders the Netherlands.

A special center to combat explosives attacks will be opened in Osnabrück next month.