Fatal Rotterdam building explosion suspect was convicted in Spain drugs case

The suspect arrested in connection with a building explosion and collapse in Rotterdam earlier this year was previously convicted in a drug case in Spain. The suspect, 35-year-old Jalal O., has denied any involvement in the explosion on Schammenkamp in which three people were killed. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) said they have found evidence to suggest that the garage where the blast originated was being used to process and cut cocaine.

A drug lab may have been the cause of the enormous explosion that left three dead on January 29, but the cause was still under investigation as was the possible involvement of the suspect. One of the victims was O.'s cousin. “Several homes and businesses were wiped out by the explosion,” the prosecutor said in the District Court of Rotterdam on Monday.

The OM said that O. rented out the commercial garage space on the ground floor of an apartment building for his handyman business. However, it was actually in use as a cocaine production facility, the prosecutor alleged. The OM suspects O. of manufacturing, processing and selling cocaine.

The evidence found after the explosion led the OM to the conclusion cocaine was being cut, not washed, at the garage. The items found include various mixers, jerry cans, 200 liters of acetone, hydrochloric acid, extraction equipment, several sieves, and scales. A jerry can of acetone was found between the legs of one of the people who died.

Traces of cocaine were also found on the inside of the garage door, as well as on the van that was in front of the building. A photograph showing white, steaming buckets and scales was found on the phone of one of the people who died. The photo was taken a day before the explosion, the prosecutor said.

O. was convicted in November 2022 in a drug-related case in Spain, where he was ordered to serve community service. His prison sentence was suspended, according to the verdict sent from Spanish authorities to the prosecutor, the OM said.

O. had several Spanish-speaking Moroccan boys working for him, and he rented two homes down the street for them, the OM claimed. The police found a dormitory with six sleeping men in one of the homes after a complaint about a smell resembling acetone. That smell was also reported by the man who was sitting on his couch when it fell through the floor due to the explosion. He also stated that he had seen Moroccan boys who spoke Spanish. As a victim, he pressed charges of attempted manslaughter.

The Public Prosecution Service commissioned the Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI) to draw up a report about the suspected cause of the explosion. The investigation into the cause was complicated by the enormity of the disaster.

“If I had anything to do with this, I wouldn't have come back here from abroad,” said O. “It will soon be proven that I had nothing to do with this.” O. denied having anything to do with drugs during a third interrogation round, but prosecutors said this proved he is not a reliable witness because of the conviction in Spain.

That conviction was one reason the court used to justify remanding O. into pre-trial detention. The next hearing was scheduled for July 16.