Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Police respond to a mail bomb in Amsterdam
Police respond to a mail bomb in Amsterdam. February 12, 2020 - Credit: Politie / YouTube
Crime
Amsterdam
Noord-Holland
Kerkrade
Limburg
mail bomb
Maastricht
explosive
explosion
police
Ricoh
ABN Amro
Bitcoin
extortion
Wednesday, 12 February 2020 - 15:26
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Detonated mail bombs part of bitcoin extortion scheme

Two mail bombs which exploded in Amsterdam and Kerkrade earlier on Wednesday were part of an extortion plot where the sender demanded an undisclosed amount of bitcoin. The demand was made with the promise that, if paid, the sender would stop distributing the explosives, police said in a statement.

The amount involved was not revealed so the information could be used against any eventual suspect, police said.

One of the two bombs exploded at an ABN Amro postal sorting center within a business park in the Sloterdijk neighborhood of Amsterdam. The other detonated at a mail processing facility operated by Ricoh in Kerkrade, Limburg.

There were no injuries in either incident. Police said they suspected the two packages were linked to a series of mail bombs distributed earlier in the year.

"The police strongly take it into account that the letter found on Wednesday morning [in Amsterdam] fits in with the series of letter bombs previously sent and found at various locations in the country," police said in a statement. "The letter in Kerkrade this morning is also part of the investigation."

Over a half-dozen letter bombs were discovered earlier this year at locations in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht, including at hotels, mail sorting centers, and other businesses. Following that, police warned the public about unusual envelopes affixed with a label purportedly from collections agency CIB which contained the explosives.

Authorities said Wednesday's detonated package in Amsterdam was not similarly labeled. Authorities did say that mail recipients should be cautious of thick white envelopes with two stamps affixed, where a printed piece of white paper with the delivery and return addresses is sealed in plastic.

A third suspicious package also arrived at an ABN Amro location in Maastricht, but was later determined to be a computer mouse in an envelope.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Dance Valley director arrested on suspicion of rape
  • “Idiotic” that tents were taken from asylum seekers, says activist; Red Cross closed
  • Insight into vaccine effectiveness against monkeypox in Sept. at earliest: Virologist
  • Over 400,000 Dutch smokers invited to get screened for lung cancer
  • Leaked healthcare agreement pulls funding from community care, general practitioners
  • Amsterdam shuts another cafe for six months due to recent explosion

Top stories

  • NS workers announce relay-strikes starting next week
  • Dutch economy recorded strong growth in second quarter despite inflation
  • Housing corporations want to lower low-income households' rents next year
  • Broad compensation won't help purchasing power: DNB
  • Covid hospital patient total holds below 700 for 6th day; Infections at 10-week low
  • It's up to employers to increase wages and protect purchasing power, Dutch gov't says

© 2012-2022, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content