Police chief Wilbert Paulissen is very concerned about New Year’s Eve because of Cobras being set off. “We as police are extra alert, also because we are sometimes lured into a trap,” he says in an interview with Omroep Brabant. “It’s fingers crossed.” Twenty arrests were made this year in the East Brabant region due to explosions involving Cobras, among other things.
The heavy, illegal Cobra 6 fireworks are seen by the police as a life-threatening explosive. An explosive with the force of a hand grenade. The Cobra is used to intimidate people, such as in the roofers’ war in Den Bosch.
“I worry about every Cobra,” Paulissen begins. “But I look at New Year’s Eve with great concern.” The police chief’s view is that half of the Cobras are used by criminals, but the other part is used by ‘ordinary’ citizens to resolve business and private issues.
And so to ‘have a blast’ around New Year’s Eve. “People see it as loud fireworks. The louder the better. They don’t see the dangers of the explosive.” But for the police there is an additional danger involved. “They are thrown at us or into crowds. This can cause hearing damage and serious injury. We see that as a serious crime.”
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Relatively speaking, New Year’s Eve can be called ‘quiet’ every year in the east of Brabant, if you compare it with the rest of the country. “Due to the concerns surrounding Cobras, we are not deploying additional officers. We are extra alert. For example, a car may have been deliberately set on fire to lure us there and trap us. But watching from the corner and keeping your distance is also very difficult.”
Paulissen emphasizes that he protects his people as best as possible. “But I have to be honest, it is too fingers crossed.“So I hope everything goes well. “I appeal to everyone’s common sense not to use them, especially not in a crowd.”
The Cobras are therefore used all year round, so there were more than a thousand explosions throughout the Netherlands this year. In most cases a Cobra was used. “We have made twenty arrests in East Brabant after an explosion,” the police chief says. “Finding entire stocks is difficult, we really need tips. If they come in, we will investigate them.”
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“The Cobra is illegal. So if someone is in possession of them, that person will be arrested,” the police chief emphasizes. “If the Cobra is used, we will do everything we can to find the perpetrators. For example, with images of ours bodycam.”