Mayor Eric van Oosterhout of Emmen has closed a car wash on Flintstraat in Emmen for twelve months. The police raided the company premises early last week because of an investigation into international drug trafficking.
On the same morning, the police in Emmen raided homes, a garage box and a catering building on the Hoofdstraat. Of these buildings, the mayor only locked the catering building. It concerns accommodation on the first floor where Hekkert lunchroom was located in a distant past and where various other companies were later located. “This building is closed for the duration of the police investigation,” said Martin de Bruin, spokesman for the mayor. The investigation is still ongoing.
Fixed for 14 days
The police have serious suspicions that companies located in the aforementioned business premises are involved in internationally organized crime and money laundering. “With the closure, the mayor wants to prevent criminal acts from taking place again in the foreseeable future. If you close a building, you automatically remove the loop,” says De Bruin.
A 40-year-old citizen of Emmen was arrested during the raids. He is suspected of international drug trafficking and is regarded by the Public Prosecution Service as the main suspect. The police connect him to several large cocaine shipments. Large quantities of cocaine, mainly from South America, were imported to the Netherlands and distributed across Europe. Very large amounts of money are involved in this. The 40-year-old has now been brought before the examining magistrate, who ruled that the Emmenaar may be detained for another fourteen days.
Money, cars, guns
On the day of the raids, the police later arrested a 25-year-old resident of Emmen. This man has since been released. According to the examining magistrate, there was insufficient reason to keep him under lock and key any longer. “He is still considered a suspect,” said a spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service. A total of nine places in Emmen were searched by the police. Large amounts of cash, several cars, dozens of telephones, digital goods, ammunition, firearms, several GPS systems, expensive designer clothing and drugs were seized.