Suspicious letter forces evacuation of Weert company

A suspicious letter was found at a company on Schatbeurderlaan in Weert. The police are at the scene to investigate whether the case is another mail bomb in a series of incidents which began last January. The company was evacuated as a precaution, the Limburg police said on Twitter, with authorities on high alert for the incendiary devices, several of which have detonated.

The police and fire department were dispatched to the scene at around 8:10 a.m. The area was eventually reopened to the public at around 11 a.m., after an investigation determined that the package included no explosives, and only legitimate electronics.

Since late December, mail bombs were sent to at least 10 companies in the Netherlands, though to date there have been no injuries. The first wave of bombs were all discovered and dismantled before they could explode, but last week mail bombs actually exploded at a company in Kerkrade, at an ABN Amro mail room in Amsterdam, and at an ING office also in the capital.

The police assume all the mail bombs were sent by the same perpetrator or group of perpetrators. They suspect the dangerous letters are part of an extortion scheme, with bitcoin demanded in exchange for a guarantee that the distribution of bombs will be stopped.

On Tuesday investigators shared more details about the explosives and how they were packaged, in the hope that the public can help lead them to the perpetrator. A €15,000 euros reward is on offer for information that leads to an arrest.