So far, 48 explosions have occurred at homes and business premises in Rotterdam. The number is almost as many as in all of 2022; then the city had 49 similar incidents. A police spokesman confirmed this on Saturday in response to reporting by the regional broadcaster Rijnmond. The police cannot make any statements about the cause of the increase, this is still being investigated. It is known, however, that in many cases the attacks are related to a criminal conflict originating in the drug environment.
This week there were already two explosions on the Crooswijkseweg in Crooswijk and explosives were also placed at two buildings in Rotterdam last night. A few days ago, the police arrested two more suspects who were probably placing a fire bomb in a residential area in Rotterdam. The suspects, two boys aged 14 and 15, were arrested red-handed when they planted a bomb at a porch in Van Speykstraat. A 32-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday evening on suspicion of involvement in the explosions.
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Last month, Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said that the wave of attacks is a result of the successful interception of drugs in the port of Rotterdam. This would increase unrest between rival gangs, resulting in more and more victims of innocent relatives of rivals being targeted. “The police and the Public Prosecution Service think that the wave of attacks can largely be related to the success of the HARC team in the port,” said the mayor on March 16 after questions from several political groups. in the city council.
The Hit And Run Cargo (HARC) team is a partnership of the police, customs, FIOD and the Public Prosecution Service. Last year, the team intercepted 46,789 kilos of cocaine in the port of Rotterdam; the second largest amount ever. According to Aboutaleb, “so many drugs are seized that drug criminals start blaming each other for why a load has disappeared”.