Rotterdam is planning a crackdown on its 43 ‘shisha lounges’, after concerns about criminality surrounding the water pipe cafés.

Bert Wijbenga, head of law enforcement at Rotterdam council, told RTV Rijnmond that the growth of the lounges and several serious incidents meant the council had to act.

‘Looking at everything, we decided it was high tide to crack down on the bad sides of the shisha lounges in the city,’ he said.

All establishments will now be rigorously checked for compliance with regulation around smoking rooms, the payment of tobacco duties and fire safety.

Bomb

Several people had minor injuries after a man planted a home-made bomb at shisha lounge Villa Blanca in central Rotterdam in December.

Local police are currently investigating links between shisha cafés and criminals for a new report.

‘We shouldn’t be naïve,’ said Wijbenga. ‘There are signs that too many shisha lounges have links with criminals, and that’s not good.’

Rotterdam is not the only city where these establishments have been linked to crime. In 2016, there were headlines across the world when the severed head of drugs gang member Nabil Amzieb was found outside the Fayrouz shisha lounge in Amsterdam.