A strange story. This is what the owner of the business premises in Beek en Donk calls the police raid last Sunday. In the building, where mainly Poles live, an arrest team searched for hours for traces of drugs during a major raid. What was found? Washing powder. “They messed with the buckets and then they left.”
Hans Leenders owns the industrial hall on Korenmijt, where Polish employees of his company Leenders Roosters live. That company has been making slats for pig stables for decades, he explains.
“We mainly work with Polish migrant workers. They live in that industrial hall and we call it a Poland hotel. It is a hall with an office, beds and showers.”
“They have families and like to work late.”
These are ‘very normal people who have been working at the company for years’, says Hans. “They have families and like to work extra hours. They save up those hours so that they can go back to Poland for a while. We have been doing it that way for years and to everyone’s satisfaction.”
The Poles also occasionally do odd jobs. “We have someone who buys bicycles on Marktplaats, fixes them up and then sells them again. This way he pays for the petrol for the return trip to Poland.”
According to Leenders, some employees had decided to stock up on cheap washing powder. 45 euros for 30 kilos of washing powder. They can sell them more expensively in Poland. “So I saw that this week, in the office under a staircase. I already said, ‘What the hell is that stuff?’”
“With their noses to the floor. Those Poles were really shocked.”
And then on Sunday afternoon there was suddenly a raid by an arrest team that thought they would find drugs there. And according to Hans, that was done ‘with brute force’. “Those police men were in black. They had helmets on, had guns and suddenly came storming in,” says Hans.
“They shouted for everyone to lie down on the ground. With their noses against the floor. That went really fast. Those Poles were really shocked. The entire company was searched. Everything was checked.”
Finally, the LFO (National Dismantling Support Facility) came along. “Those people who came in protective clothing dived into the washing powders. They did some research but couldn’t find anything.”
“Nobody can tell me what’s going on.”
Then they went again. The police did not take anything from the building. “But why not? And why were they there? I have no idea. I have already called the police and the mayor, but no one can tell me what is going on.”
The police cannot comment on the raid because it concerns an ‘ongoing drug investigation’, but confirm that no drugs were found. “We have not tested whether it concerns washing powder, paracetamol or, for example, baking soda,” a spokesperson said earlier.
Hans can only speculate what is going on. “I don’t dare put my hands in the fire, but I think someone in the area saw washing powder being unloaded and called the police. I can certainly imagine that vividly.”
READ ALSO: Drug investigation in Beek en Donk: police raid business premises
2023-10-23 15:36:10
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