Three Dutch arrested after DNA match on ISIS weapons

On Monday the police arrested three Dutch men on suspicion of participating in a terrorist organization. Traces of their DNA were found on firearms linked to terrorist organization Islamic State. The weapons were found in a suburb of Paris two days after terrorist attacks in Brussels, the Public Prosecutor announced on Tuesday, NU.nlr eports.

The Dutch suspects are a 26-year-old man from Groningen, a 30-year-old man with no fixed address, and a 53-year-old man currently imprisoned in Zaanstad. A fourth man, a 22-year-old currently detained in Sassenhiem, is also a suspect but hasn't been arrested yet.

Traces of these four men's DNA were found on the inside of some firearms and on a sports bag found in the Paris suburb, according to the Prosecutor. Their homes were searched. "Computers, mobile phones and written notes were seized. In the home in Groningen the police also found a shotgun and a pistol", the Prosecutor said.

The ISIS hiding place in Paris was discovered by the police two days after the attacks in Brussels on March 24th, 2016. In that apartment, rented by suspected terrorist Reda K., the authorities found Kalashnikovs, 30 kilograms of explosives, small arms, false passports, detonators and jihadist writings.

Anis B., a second suspected terrorist in this investigation, was arrested in Rotterdam in 2016. In his apartment the police found ammunition for Kalashnikovs.

Following the arrests of Reda K. and Anis B., the Dutch, Belgian and French police launched an international investigation into the origin of the weapons found.

The arrested Dutch suspects are currently in restricted custody, which means they are only allowed contact with the authorities and their lawyers. They will be arraigned later this week.