Police officers in the Hague arrested a suspiciously successful street newspaper seller on Saturday. 

To the officers’ surprise, the paper in the seller’s possession went far beyond the expected product. Newspapers, yes, but also stacks of €50 notes — 636 of them.

Providing his papers?

Initially approached in connection with an ongoing check for ondermijning (“subversion”), the vendor was unable to show any ID. 

“That is why he was arrested”, explains a spokesperson for The Hague police to the AD.

Show me the money!

Once at the station, he was asked to empty his pockets onto the table. 

It must have taken a while — after all, counting out €31,800 in €50 notes can’t be quick.

With the total counted, the man was interrogated and found to be staying in the Netherlands illegally. 

So where did the cash come from? No idea. The man has now been released and the mystery money is in the hands of the Identification and Human Trafficking Department (AVIM).

Looks like this newspaper seller has plenty of issues — legal ones, at least.

Were you as surprised as us to hear about this suspicious seller? Tell us in the comments below!

Do you remember the murder of Peter R. de Vries? How about when Princess Amalia was kept from leaving the house due to threats to her well-being? Well, the criminal allegedly tied to these crimes just got sentenced to life in prison.

The man in question? Ridouan Taghi, one the Netherland’s most notorious criminals.

Along with seventeen other suspects, he was on trial for nearly six whole years.

What crimes did he commit?

Ridouan Taghi was at the head of ‘a well-oiled murder organisation’, according to the Public Prosecution Service (OM).

This group is allegedly responsible for six murders between the years 2015 and 2017, four attempted murders and preparations for even more assassinations.

What’s most interesting, however, is that the crimes were committed as the trial was ongoing. As the NOS writes, these include:

• The murder of the brother of Nabil B., who was named as crown witness to the case in early 2018,
• The murder of Nabil B.’s lawyer, Derk Wiersum, in 2019,
• The murder of Peter R. de Vries in 2021, who was Nabil B.’s close confidant.

The so-called ‘Marengo trial’ also imposed sentences upon 17 other suspects.

These sentences range from life sentences (for two of Taghi’s closest co-criminals), to just one year and 9 months.

(Fun fact: Although this is one of the most important criminal trials to have ever taken place in the Netherlands, its name was randomly generated by a computer.)

READ MORE | 7 notorious Dutch criminals that will leave you shaking in your clogs

Want the latest Dutch news to come zooming through the internet to your inbox? Dat kan! Subscribe to DutchReview’s weekly roundup

At least four police officers were injured during a riot outside a conference centre in The Hague on Saturday night.

Two officers injured their hands, one injured their teeth, and one was hit by a police car — but the police have not commented on the severity of the injuries.

On top of the injuries, some serious damage was done around the area, as vehicles and property were set on fire, and several windows were broken.

As the NOS reports, several people have been arrested, and the police are in contact with witnesses to the riots.

So, what happened?

The riots broke out after two groups of Eritreans (people from Eritrea, a country in East Africa) clashed during an event on Saturday night.

Pro-government Eritreans had organised a New Year’s party at the Opera Hall Centre, and things escalated after opponents of the Eritrean regime arrived at the meeting.

The 500 to 600 guests initially did not engage with them, and the meeting didn’t seem political. Later on, things got out of hand.

According to the mayor of the Hague, Jan van Zanen, young people from the ‘Brigade Nhamedu’ organisation came to confront the meeting.

The opposition group believe that cultural gatherings like this one glorify the Eritrean regime, and “they do anything they can” to disrupt them.

Not the first time

This incident isn’t the first time Eritreans have clashed in the Netherlands. Several people were also injured following a mass brawl in Rijswijk, where Eritrean Independence Day was being celebrated in May, reported the NOS.

Measures were taken by Van Zanen and the meeting organisers for this event, but apparently, it was not enough to manage the crowd.

Want the latest Dutch news to come zooming through the internet to your inbox? Dat kan! Subscribe to DutchReview’s weekly roundup

Last Wednesday, a so-called TBS’er (a person with a mental disorder who cannot be completely blamed for a crime they committed) escaped from a psychiatric hospital in Groningen. Police have now released his information to the public.

The man in question is Mouloud M., a 33-year-old who is originally from Enschede. He is said to have run off from the Van Mesdag clinic last Wednesday during a supervised leave.

He was last seen near the Sterrenbos neighbourhood in Groningen on February 7.

M. has light skin, is about 1.90 metres tall, has short dark hair, dark eyebrows, large dark brown eyes, a moustache and a beard. He is said to have a lean build and is likely dressed in a dark blue quilted jacket, blue jeans and black shoes.

As the AD writes, M. urgently needs medication for his psychotic behaviour. The police urge anyone who may see him not to go near him but to notify 112 instead.

Needs to be found as soon as possible

The police emphasise the importance of finding him as quickly as possible. If M. doesn’t take his medication, he could become a serious danger to his environment or to himself.

The police have not released any information on why M. is in a TBS clinic in the first place, but it is known that he has an extensive criminal record.

Among other things, he has been accused of verbally and physically abusing his care workers and threatening them with death. 

For the past week, police have been searching for him, but to no avail.

“Therefore, it has now been decided to release his name and photo. That is one of the toughest resources we can use. It’s a major breach of one’s privacy,” a spokesperson from the Public Prosecution Service tells the AD.

Want the latest Dutch news to come zooming through the internet to your inbox? Dat kan! Subscribe to DutchReview’s weekly roundup

It was like a scene right out of an action movie when, on February 22, 2022, an armed robbery at the Apple Store in Amsterdam escalated into the taking of hostages.

It was a case that gripped not only the Netherlands but the entire world.

Now, almost exactly two years later, Netflix has announced that they are working on a “gripping thriller” about the incident.

Multiple perspectives

Filming for the movie, whose title is not yet known, is to start soon under the direction of renowned Dutch director Bobby Boermans.

It will feature actors Soufiane Moussouli and Marcel Hensema and create “a mosaic of experiences” by switching back and forth between the perspectives of the perpetrator, the hostages and the first responders.

The film is set to launch on Netflix in 2025.

What happened?

At around 6 PM on February 22, 2022, shots were heard at the Apple Store on Amsterdam’s famous Leidseplein square.

A 27-year-old Dutchman had taken a Bulgarian man hostage and held him at gunpoint for several hours. About 70 other people were also trapped inside the store.

The hostage-taker asked Dutch police to provide him with €200 million in cryptocurrency and a safe exit from the building. He threatened to blow himself up should they not comply.

The situation eventually came to an end when the perpetrator left the store to get water from the police. He was then struck by a police car, leaving him laying on his back on the ground outside of the store.

He died from the consequences of his injuries several days later.

Will you be checking this movie out? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Police have reported that a drug lab could have caused the deadly explosion of a Rotterdam apartment complex on January 30.

Debris from the explosion shows evidence of materials that could be used to produce narcotic drugs, reports the NOS.

The police have now arrested a 34-year-old Rotterdam man, who is suspected of producing the drugs. Sources report that he was also a tenant of the apartment complex.

The suspect in question

The suspect, Jalal O., was still in the building just before the explosion, along with his nephew and a friend.

After the incident, he stated that he knew nothing about its cause: “We made tea electrically. It looks like a gas explosion. I don’t know. I am going crazy.”

The Rotterdammer was also one of the people who jumped over the fence to retrieve the remains of one of the three victims, his nephew, from under the rubble.

Evidence of drug production

On the scene, journalists spotted jerrycans with acetone and hydrochloric acid in the debris, substances that could be used in drug production.

The investigation of the debris was temporarily stopped after they found barrels leaking an unknown liquid that began to smoke.

The fire brigade has since continued the investigation into the cause of the explosion and the fire.

All victims recovered

Until a few days ago, it was not safe for emergency services to enter the area due to unstable debris that could lead the building to further collapse.

Authorities decided to demolish the building from top to bottom, but this caused some unrest among residents, who were worried that the missing bodies would be disfigured in the process.

In the meantime, all three victims have been recovered from the rubble.

Want the latest Dutch news to come zooming through the internet to your inbox? Dat kan! Subscribe to DutchReview’s weekly roundup

Self-checkouts are popping up at more and more stores around the Netherlands nowadays — but is that a good idea from a business perspective?

As a survey by RTL Nieuws suggests, it might not be.

Why? Well, because about 1 in 14 people (7%) regularly steal while using self-checkouts at supermarkets, drugstores, or department stores. Oops.

Those numbers are even higher for young people aged between 18 and 35, with 11% of respondents admitting to regularly snagging an item or two at the self-checkouts.

But why?

From swiping an expensive piece of parmesan to purposely scanning a cheaper product, the reasons for some Dutchies’ kleptomaniac tendencies vary.

Of those surveyed by RTL Nieuws, 42% of people say they steal to save money, while another 40% say they do it out of protest.

Between inflation and tight budgets, they believe supermarkets make too high of a profit on our essential needs — so, really, it’s the supermarkets that steal from the customers.

you know who cares about people stealing from self-checkout? no one. no does. there's people that are dying, kimberly

— i can't believe matpat is retiring (@zacharymahabir) January 25, 2024

“I love smoked salmon, but it’s just no longer affordable,” one of the thieves tells RTL Nieuws. “[Stealing] is a simple way to save €4 to €5”.

And what about random checks? They still happen, but they don’t do much to curb thieves’ enthusiasm. Most people just invent an excuse and face no consequences for their attempted theft.

Millions in theft damage

The victim of choice for most thieves? The good ol’ supermarket.

In fact, 97% of stealing happens at Dutch supermarkets, followed by 9% at department stores like HEMA and Action and 5% at drugstores.

And stores are feeling the repercussions.

Last year alone, for example, Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo reported a whopping €100 million in stolen goods.

READ MORE | Best supermarkets in the Netherlands: the international’s guide

Especially since 2023, the number of reports has vastly increased, as Jumbo, Dirk, PLUS, and the politie agree.

But despite all that, the handy-dandy self-checkouts are here to stay — as not just customers but stores love them.

“It’s more effective and faster, including for supermarkets themselves,” a Dutch Central Bureau of Food Trade spokesperson tells RTL Nieuws.

How do you feel about people stealing from supermarkets? Tell us in the comments below!

A 23-year-old man has died following a firework explosion in The Hague on Wednesday night.

The man was found seriously injured on the Engelenburgstraat in The Hague following a firework explosion at 1:30 AM on January 25. Police now report that the man has died.

Seriously injured

An eyewitness to the aftermath of the explosion tells Omroep West that the injured man lost his hand.

“I saw him lying here on the corner, there was blood everywhere,” she said.

According to another witness, “we heard a very loud bang. When we heard screaming, we knew something was wrong.”

The police have yet to report the exact cause of death.

24-year-old in custody

Both the victim and a second 24-year-old man were arrested for their involvement in the explosion.

The second man remains in custody and an investigation into the explosion continues.

Want the latest Dutch news to come zooming through the internet to your inbox? Dat kan! Subscribe to DutchReview’s weekly roundup

The Netherlands is world-renowned for its liberal stance towards drugs, and if Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema, had her way, it would be even more liberal.

According to Halsema, the sale and use of cocaine and other hard drugs should be decriminalised.

And listen, she’s got some good points to make.

Why should cocaine be decriminalised?

Speaking with Het Financieele Dagblad, Halsema explains that this approach is all about preventing damage caused by the Netherlands’ war on drugs.

By decriminalising the very thing that drives criminal activity, Halsema hopes to overthrow criminals’ revenue model — and stop wasting police time on a war that is achieving “damn little.”

READ MORE | Cocaine in the Netherlands: everything you need to know 2024

“About 80 percent of our police capacity is spent on drug-related crime,” she tells Het Financieele Dagblad.

“I am part of a growing group of scientists and administrators who say that the international war on drugs has such perverse effects that we are now suffering more from it than from the drugs themselves.”

Her solution? Decriminalise them and regulate these drugs instead.

After all, what’s a drug criminal going to do without, well, illegal drugs?

Do you agree with Halsema? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

On January 19, an 84-year-old woman was found dead after a house fire in Amsterdam. To everyone’s surprise, it now appears the victim didn’t die as a result of the fire.

Instead, it’s believed she was actually stabbed to death.

It also turns out that the fire was not an accident but rather a planned crime. The perpetrator? A 90-year-old man who shared a home with the victim.

Arrested on multiple accounts

When the woman was found by the fire department, she had multiple stab wounds on her body. She was quickly taken to the hospital but tragically passed from her injuries the following day.

The police suspect that the 90-year-old man, who lived with the woman, is responsible for both stabbing her and setting the house on fire.

Want the latest Dutch news to come zooming through the internet to your inbox? Dat kan! Subscribe to DutchReview’s weekly roundup