Explosive defused in Beverwijk near former Polish supermarket

An explosive device was found on Saturday morning on the Breestraat in Beverwijk near a building that used to be a Polish supermarket. The Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Service defused the device resembling a jerry can with a long thread, NH Nieuws reported.

An employee of a mobile construction toilet company notified police this morning when he noticed that the window of a building had been smashed in. The building was currently being renovated. It had previously housed a Polish supermarket.

Police immediately cleared the area because the explosive was located near the shopping center, Beverhof. After the device was defused, stores were allowed to reopen and residents were able to return to their homes.

At the beginning of this week, an explosive had also been found at the nearby Polish supermarket, Super Polo. The device was also successfully defused and a 19-year-old suspect was taken into custody. The Mayor of Beverwijk, Martijn Smit, decided to close the supermarket after the incident for safety reasons.

Police said that the discovery of the explosive on Saturday morning does not appear to be related to the explosive found earlier this week.

In the past, Polish supermarkets have been destroyed by explosives multiple times causing a great deal of damage not only to the store itself but also to the neighboring buildings.