Six held in New Year’s kidnapping of Amsterdam woman, two children

Six persons are in custody for abducting a woman and her two children from Amsterdam-Noord on December 31st. The police freed the woman and her kids from a home in Almere the next day, the police said in a statement on Wednesday.

After being abducted with her kids, aged 3 and 7, the 31-year-old woman managed to notify a friend, who called the police. The police immediately started an investigation, which led them to a home in Almere. On January 1st, members of the police's Special Interventions Service managed to free the woman and her two kids from the home where they were being held.

A total of 10 suspects were arrested in the weeks since. Six of them are still in custody - five men and one woman ranging in age from 19 to 28. The suspects are from Amsterdam, Lelystad and Purmerend. "The investigation has given rise to the provisional suspicion that some of the suspects are part of the rap scene in Amsterdam Zuidoost," the police said.

During the investigation, the police found and seized a total of five firearms and around 200 thousand euros in cash.

The police only reported the arrests on Wednesday, because one of the suspects was in restricted custody until Tuesday, the police said. Restricted custody means that a suspect is only allowed contact with their lawyer, and also that the authorities are unable to share much information about the case.