A police spokesman said it was an unplanned action. “This created a dangerous situation. Our first priority was to stop this action so that traffic became safe again. That worked. The tractors then left the highway via the exit and the verge. We couldn’t stop them and we couldn’t identify them because they didn’t have a license plate.”
The police are still looking for leads to identify the activists. “If we can trace this back to people, we will hand out fines afterwards.” The tractors were brought to a stop at Tjalleberd, after which they turned around and went the other way, driving wrongly. There they again encountered a police blockade, after which they left the highway at Tijnje. “The tractors went in all directions, so we couldn’t stop anyone there,” said the spokesman. Several police units have been dispatched to stop the action.
Since 1 January agricultural vehicles must have a registration number if they are also used on public roads. This has been checked since 1 July, the Public Prosecution Service reported earlier.