Hundreds evacuated in Apeldoorn after suspected drugs lab found

Around 220 people were evacuated from three apartment blocks in Apeldoorn on Wednesday morning after police found a suspected drugs lab in one of the buildings overnight.

Residents of about 100 homes on the Eburonenstraat were ordered out at around 10am. Officers were alerted after someone reportedly threw fireworks from a balcony, and went on to find weapons and what they believe was a drugs lab inside one of the flats.

One resident has been arrested and is being questioned.

Specialist units are on the scene, including the national dismantling service (LFO), which is called in when chemicals pose a risk to the surrounding area, and a police explosives-safety officer.

Police said they could not yet tell whether there was any danger of an explosion, and the area around the building has been sealed off. A few officers reported feeling unwell from chemical fumes and were checked by ambulance crews, but none needed hospital treatment.

Residents of the two outer blocks were allowed home in the early afternoon. Those in the middle block, where the find was made, are still waiting to return.

The evacuation comes as Dutch police warn that drug producers are increasingly setting up labs in residential areas, bringing the dangers of volatile chemicals into densely populated buildings.