Tuesday, 18 February 2014 - 16:56
Weapons dealers busted around Amsterdam
In a large-scale raid in spy shop One2spy on the Admiraal de Ruijterweg in De Baarsjes and 8 other properties, and a shed in the Amsterdam area, police arrested 13 men and seized weapons and illegal goods.
The raid was well prepared after a thorough investigation of "Heavy Crimes Investigation" department, under code name: 13 Waigeo.
'The spy shop facilitated criminals in every possible way, by helping them stay anonymous and hindering detectives in their work,' said acting chief of police Jeroen Poelert.
The department also received Intel from the Criminal Intel Unit that the store sold weapons. The raid did turn up automatic weapons, illegal jammers, used to block radio and phone signals, and some unusual gadgets such as a Taser in the form of a lipstick.
During the briefing, around 05:00 this morning, the team received instructions for the operation. All members wore baklavas and addressed each other as "colleague" rather than using names, because they assumed all locations of the raid could be equipped with "spyware."
Around 06:00 this morning 7 suspects were arrested in Amsterdam, Hoofddorp, and Den Ilp. The 39-year-old owner of the spy shop, Farah el O., was arrested in his home on the Meeuwenlaan in Amsterdam Noord. A key found at the owner's home gave the teams access to One2spy on the corner of the Admiraal de Ruijterweg and the Chasséstraat around 06:45.
'Keep in mind that nothing is what it seems,' were the instructions of the team leader of the 200 men strong police force. The investigators were assisted by experts in "finding hidden spaces" from the airborne Special Operations.