Armed man arrested near heavily secured court complex at Schiphol

Three men were arrested near the high security court complex at Schiphol for illegal weapons possession on Monday afternoon. One of the suspects had a firearm on him, the Koninklijke Marechaussee, a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for airport security, said on Facebook on Tuesday.

The men, a 21-year-old and a 24-year-old from Amsterdam and a 28-year-old from Duivendrecht, were checked by Marechaussee officers on Duizendbladweg, near the Schiphol Judicial Complex. While searching the 28-year-old man, the officer noticed that he was hiding an object under his clothing, the Marechaussee said. When the officer tried to check the object, the man ran away.

The Marechaussee saw the man throw something that looked like a firearm into a ditch as he ran away. With the help of forensic investigators and the fire brigade at Schiphol, the item was retrieved. It was indeed a firearm, the Marechaussee said.

All three men were arrested for further investigation. The two men from Amsterdam have since been released, but the man from Duivendrecht remains in custody.