Several dozen soldiers in the Dutch army are also members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang which the Public Prosecution Department is trying to ban, the defence ministry confirmed on Friday. The ministry could not say exactly how many soldiers were involved. The claims were made in today’s Volkskrant.

The ministry spokesman told ANP that military officials are trying to persuade soldiers to leave the organisation.
He said it was not possible to take formal action against the men, pending a court ruling on the ban. The public prosecution department is in the middle of a string of court cases trying to have the organisation made illegal – saying it was a criminal organisation.
Jan Kleian, chairman of the military union ACOM, said one soldier currently faces being discharged. He has already resigned from the club but has been told to break all contacts. If he is thrown out of the army, the union will go to court, Kleian said.
Wim van den Burg, chairman of the AFPM soldier’s union, told ANP that the defence ministry was going too far. It was a question of someone’s private life, Van den Burg said. It was not enough to say that criminals hung around in the organisation, Van den Burg added.
One soldier has been suspended from duty because he is being investigated for criminal offences in connection with the Hells Angels, the Volkskrant said.