Explosion destroys Eindhoven sushi cafe as criminality plagues city street

A fire destroyed a sushi restaurant on Kruisstraat in the center of Eindhoven early on Monday morning. The police believe perpetrators threw heavy fireworks into the business. It is the latest of a series of incidents on the Eindhoven street.

The fire brigade received the first report of an explosion and fire at the sushi cafe just before 3:30 a.m. and responded to the scene, Omroep Brabant reported. Police evacuated surrounding homes as a precaution while firefighters set to extinguish the blaze. No one was injured, but the fire did destroy the business.

Witnesses reported seeing the perpetrators flee in a car shortly after the explosion. Photos from the scene show the street littered with shattered glass. The police are investigating.

This is the latest of a series of incidents on Kruisstraat. The police raided two businesses across the street from the sushi restaurant last week as part of a money laundering investigation, according to the broadcaster.

In September, the police raided several business premises, including one on Kruisstraat, in another money laundering and drug trafficking investigation. Four people were arrested. The police have also arrested three teenagers, two in November and one in February, for placing explosives at the business a week after the raid.

It is unclear whether these incidents are related.

“The Woenselse Markt and Kuirsstraat have been plagued by crime, nuisance, and public order disturbances for some time,” the police said in January, after carrying out a series of checks and controls in the area. The city and authorities “are working together to tackle this persistent undermining,” the police said. “We aim to break the unwanted attraction this area has for criminals.”