Thursday 30 June 2022

Police release Belgian suspects, resume hunt for four Tefaf jewel thieves

Police release Belgian suspects, resume hunt for four Tefaf jewel thieves

Two Belgian nationals arrested in connection with Tuesday’s armed robbery at the Tefaf fine arts fair in Maastricht have been released without charge, police said on Wednesday evening. The two men were arrested shortly after a gang of four stole a quantity of jewelry from a display case at the fair. They were stopped in their gray car with Belgian plates on the A2 motorway after they were said to be acting suspiciously. The men’s lawyer had earlier described their... More >

Court to rule on encrypted chat messages

Court to rule on encrypted chat messages

The Supreme Court will rule on Tuesday whether police should be allowed to ‘crack’ large databases of encrypted messages to intercept communications between criminal gangs. Decrypted messages were a vital piece of evidence in solving the murder of Samir Erraghib, one of the alleged victims of a series of gangland killings that form the basis of the ongoing Marengo trial. The messages came to light when police decrypted some 3.6 million messages during an investigation into Ennetcom, a secure network... More >

Prosecutors to demand life term for Taghi

Prosecutors to demand life term for Taghi

Prosecutors are expected to demand a life sentence for Ridouan Taghi, the chief suspect in the Marengo multiple gangland murder trial, on Tuesday. Taghi, 44, is accused of masterminding six fatal shootings in the space of 18 months and plotting another seven attacks. ‘If everything had worked out it would have amounted to almost one fatality a month,’ the prosecution said. Taghi and most of his 16 co-defendants will hear today what sentences the prosecution argues the court should impose... More >

Supreme Court asked to review murder case

Supreme Court asked to review murder case

Detectives investigating one of the Netherlands’ most high-profile murder cases of the last 20 years were guilty of ‘tunnel vision’ at the expense of the man who was convicted on appeal, a cold case investigation has found. A review by three forensic specialists found that the investigating team ignored evidence that could have undermined the case against financial adviser Ernst Louwes, who was found guilty of killing his client, Jacqueline Wittenberg, in Deventer in 1999. Louwes was initially acquitted of... More >

NL to work with Colombia on drug smuggling

Rotterdam port

NL to work with Colombia on drug smuggling

The Netherlands is to work closer with countries in South America and the Caribbean to stop the international drugs trade shipping narcotics through Rotterdam. Justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz, on a visit to the Colombian city of Medellin, said around 10 Dutch liaison officers would be sent to the country to share their expertise and try to intercept shipments before they leave for Europe. Colombian customs officers are already operational in Rotterdam and Antwerp, which are two of Europe’s biggest entry... More >

Tourist cannabis cafe ban 'will cut crime'

Tourist cannabis cafe ban 'will cut crime'

Amsterdam’s cannabis cafes are often intertwined with serious crime and play a serious role in money laundering, the capital’s mayor Femke Halsema has told councillors, ahead of Wednesday’s debate on refusing entry to tourists. Closing coffee shops which are involved in criminal activities is both complicated and time consuming, the mayor is quoted as saying by the Parool. But by banning the sale of soft drugs to tourists, the cannabis market will shrink and become less interesting for organised crime.... More >

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