There was such a shortage of detectives in 2009 that dozens were employed without the proper screening processes, the NRC says on Friday.

At least 60 people were appointed to the department without the AIVD security service running a background check on them, the paper says. This is likely to have been the case with the 28-year-old detective with the national police force arrested earlier this month.

Mark M was picked up on charges relating to leaking information to criminal gangs. According to RTL news, police found €235,000 in cash when they searched his home in Weert. ‘He led a life of luxury, went on holiday to Curaçao and the Dominican Republic and wore expensive watches,’ one source told the broadcaster.

Meanwhile, broadcaster Nos says the AIVD is asked to carry out tens of thousands of security screenings a year. Everyone who works in an area with even a tenuous link to national security has to have official clearance.

In 2014, 39,989 people were screened and 958 were deemed unsuitable for the job. The AIVD carried out some 8,500 checks but the rest were handed over to the police for completion.