Four men have been found dead in a commercial property in Enschede which, according to chamber of commerce information, was home to a company selling equipment for growing marijuana.

Police said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon that the four men had been shot dead. Two men, aged 27 and 34, came from Hengelo, the third victim was a 62-year-old man from Arnhem and the fourth, a local man aged 43.

The killing is thought to have taken place on Monday night. Locals report hearing loud bangs and a car driving away at high speed, local broadcaster RTV Oost reported.

The alarm was sounded on Tuesday afternoon after the bodies were discovered. The area has been sealed off and police worked at the location through the night, the broadcaster said.

RTV Oost also said that police had seized 15 to 20 kilos of marijuana from the premises earlier this summer.

Police said later on Wednesday that two of the men who had been killed had been charged in connection with that drugs haul.

Mass gang-related killings are extremely rare in the Netherlands, the AD reported. The last time four people were shot dead in a gangland murder was in 1998, but two of the victims then were passersby, the AD said.