Man arrested in Brabant for Rotterdam terror threat
The police arrested a 22-year-old man in Noord-Brabant during the early hours of Thursday morning in connection with a terrorist threat in Rotterdam on Wednesday evening. In a statement the police said a Special Interventions team entered the man's home around 2:00 a.m., arrested him and searched the home carefully.
Exactly where in Noord-Brabant this happened was not revealed. The man is in custody and is being questioned about his possible involvement with the threat in Rotterdam.
The Spanish man arrested in a van containing gas bottles on Mijnsherenlaan in Rotterdam on Wednesday night, told te police that he is a mechanic. He had an explanation for the gas bottles in his van, which the police will check out on Thursday. The man's house was searched and the police did not find anything that links him to terrorism. He is still in custody.
A concert by American band Allah-Las in the Maassilo at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening, was canceled due to the terrorist threat, which the Spanish police informed the Dutch authorities about. The Spanish man was arrested at 9:30 p.m. on Mijnsherenlaan, near the Maassilo. A police officer noticed him driving up and down the street. According to the police, he was under the influence, which may explain his suspicious driving behavior.
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said in a press conference on Wednesday night that investigation must reveal whether the Spanish man and his gas bottles have anything to do with the threat. He also warned against jumping to conclusions, saying the man could easily be a plumber who happened to be in the area.
A judicial source in Spain indicated on Wednesday that the threat in Rotterdam is not connected to recent terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils. The threat surfaced in a long ongoing investigation by the Spanish Guardia Civil, according to ANP.
The police removed the van from Mijnsherenlaan around midnight. On Thursday morning everything was calm and quiet in the area, according to NU.nl.