Dutch authorities ask summer vacationers to keep an eye out for fugitives abroad

The police and Public Prosecution Service (OM) will show the photos of eight fugitives on screens in the Netherlands’ airports in the coming weeks. They ask travelers to keep an eye out for these convicts while enjoying their vacation abroad and tip the police should they spot them.

The Fugitive Action Search Team Netherlands (FASTNL) selected eight fugitives for this campaign. They’ve all been convicted of serious crimes and have to serve prison sentences in the Netherlands ranging from four years for armed robbery to life for murder. Their photos will be shown in the departure halls of Schiphol, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, and Eindhoven Airport from today until the end of the month.

“It is difficult for the victims and their relatives to accept that these criminals are hiding in another country and thus avoid their imposed punishment,” the police said. “For example, the sister of Karin Maarleveld, who was murdered in 1995, hopes that the perpetrator will serve his ten-year prison sentence. And the children of Victoria Retsjika, who was murdered in 2015, would be given peace if their mother’s murderer was jailed for 12 years.”

“The judiciary and the police continue unabated to ensure that a convict serves their sentence,” said Andy Kraag, head of the national criminal investigation service. “Nobody is unfindable, and we don’t stop. Not in tracing these fugitives and not in finding new solutions to arrest criminals who have been convicted in the Netherlands.”

The police suspect these fugitives may also be traveling this summer, likely under a false name or with false documents. People traveling abroad this year can find more information on the fugitives and the countries or areas the police suspect they may visit on this site.