Airport police increasingly checking phones, SIM cards

The Koninklijke Marechaussee, the military policing force responsible for airport security at Schiphol, chekced a massive 3,387 cellphones and SIM cards at the airport last year, according to figures the Dutch foundation Freedom Inc obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, NU reports.

In 2013 the Koninklijke Marechaussee checked 1,642 SIM cards and cellphones, and in 2014 the number was 2,276. According to the Marechaussee, each device belonged to a suspect. The "special digital detectives' searched the devices for criminal evidence, a spokesperson said to NU.

The number of hard drives, other storage devices and other electronics checked is much lower. Last year 67 hard drives, 201 other storage devices, 4 audio-video devices and 11 other digital components were checked at the Schiphol border crossing.