White powder sent to municipalities triggers police response, turns out to be flour
A Dutch conference hotel has issued an apology after sending about 200 powder-filled letters to municipalities across the country, triggering evacuations, police responses and widespread alarm, RTL reports.
The letters, mailed by Villa Heidebad in Epe, Gelderland, were reportedly intended as a lighthearted thank-you to local governments that have previously booked the hotel’s conference facilities. However, the enclosed white powder — actually flour — led recipients to fear a hazardous substance.
Bjarne Pechler, the hotel’s director, told RTL he regretted the incident. “It was not our intention for panic to break out,” Pechler said. He explained that the mailing was designed as a playful gesture combining a recipe for the hotel’s well-known cookies with a video and a pun linking meel (flour) to “mail contact.”
One of the first reports came from the municipality of Tynaarlo in Drenthe. According to the municipality, it was a “distressing situation.” Several rooms in Tynaarlo’s town hall were evacuated, and some employees were left in uncertainty for a period of time. Tynaarlo was alerted after another municipality had already received a similar envelope and raised the alarm. Officials were able to locate the letter quickly and hand it over unopened to police. Investigators confirmed the powder was simply flour.
Additional letters were delivered to the municipalities of Aa en Hunze, Hoogeveen and De Wolden in Drenthe, as well as Waddinxveen in Zuid-Holland.
In Nijmegen, the arrival of the envelope caused the city hall to be evacuated. Police cordoned off the surrounding area and called in the fire brigade after a report described a “substance” that “might be dangerous.” Authorities followed established protocols until it became clear there was no threat.
The Noord-Nederland police are conducting an investigation because the first report originated in their jurisdiction. The force told RTL it is not available for comment.
