Dutch dealers massively selling illegal fireworks used in explosive attacks from Germany
Dutch firework dealers are selling heavy fireworks that are illegal in the Netherlands from Germany on a large scale, according to an investigation by RTL Nieuws. Fines and prison sentences don’t seem to deter them - at least seven Dutch dealers in the German border region have been convicted one or more times in connection with illegal fireworks, but continue to operate their fireworks businesses.
It involves heavy firecrackers commonly used in explosive attacks in the Netherlands. According to the police, four out of five explosive attacks use fireworks. Earlier this month, the police reported that the number of attacks increased again in the past six months and that more than half involve quarreling citizens with no previous criminal records.
Most result in relatively minor damage, but there have been more serious cases, such as an explosion on Tarwekamp street in The Hague that killed six. Explosives were also used in the robbery of the Drents Museum in Assen, in which valuable Romanian artifacts were stolen.
According to the Dutch and German authorities, a handful of dealers are responsible for the majority of illegal fireworks entering the Nehterlands from Germany. “These dealers are making a fortune. Some of them are also active in illegal cigarettes, designer clothing, and drug trafficking,” public prosecutor Karin Boere told the broadcaster.
Almost all of these dealers have been convicted of illegal fireworks before. “Recidivism almost always happens,” a Dutch detective said. “These are people who are crazy about fireworks, and they continue after they’ve been incarcerated.”
According to the police, the dealers are mostly Dutch. They supply middlemen, who enter the Netherlands with vans full of Cobras and Dumbums. “Extremely dangerous,” said Dutch police chief Tolga Koklu. “Static electricity alone can set it off, and then the damage is incalculable.”
The Dutch and German police told RTL that there are two major problems in tackling this trade. Firstly, German legislation regarding fireworks is much more lenient than in the Netherlands. And cooperation between the two countries is sometimes less than standard.
For example, Dutch fireworks convictions are not actively shared with German authorities, allowing convicted Dutch people to continue running their German fireworks businesses. And German monitoring of compliance with fireworks regulations is far from foolproof. “We still work mainly on paper here,” a German investigator told the broadcaster. “There is no central database we can consult. Anyone who shows a fireworks permit with a stamp will be believed nine times out of ten, while police investigations have shown that these documents are often forged.”
Dutch police chief Koklu thinks that harmonizing European laws can help with tackling this crime. If every country has the same fireworks laws and the same approach, working together will be a lot simpler.
