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News from the NOS•
Across the Netherlands, police see a sharp increase in the use of heavy fireworks as explosives. More than 80 accidents were recorded this year in Amsterdam alone. This is what the police said in the Opsporing Verzocht program.
This concerns, for example, illegal cobras causing a powerful and hard explosion. Explosives are routinely used in the criminal circuit, police say.
According to police fireworks expert Jack Sijm, criminals are primarily interested in the active ingredient, the so-called flash powder. “They can even make bombs with it.”
Homemade or non-homemade explosives are used in attacks on homes and shops, but are also used, for example, in explosives raids.
“Explosions are used in all kinds of conflicts. They could be drugs, but we also have an example of someone who has been denied entry to a restaurant business. Fireworks are then used as a threat.” Police spokesperson Miriam Slot said on the program.
Explosives can cause serious injuries, for example to the hands and legs.
Hospitality in Amsterdam
Opsporing Verzocht’s broadcast showed images of recent explosions in Amsterdam’s food and beverage outlets, such as the Café in the City in the entertainment center and the Harbor Club in eastern Amsterdam. The latter case had to be closed for two months due to an explosion last summer by order of the municipality.
Police suspect that the attacks with heavy fireworks are committed to extort or harm an entrepreneur. After an explosion, cases are almost always temporarily closed. “Intimidation with these types of explosives has become a business model for such serious criminals,” Slot said.
However, the perpetrators arrested by the police are often young. They set off heavy fireworks in exchange for money or drugs, according to police. “This is not only life threatening for them, but it can also mean that the damage caused by the restaurant business is recovered by the juvenile offender or her parents.”
