Police use robot arm to remove volatile explosive powder found in Halle

A passer-by found two trash bags and a piece of luggage filled with a highly explosive powder outside of Halle on Saturday evening, De Gelderlander reported.

The witness reported the bags between the Kuiperstraat and the Wolfersveenweg around 7 p.m.

A robot from the Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) removed the powder from the bags. "The substance is extremely sensitive. Thus, we would rather use a robot than human hands because if something goes wrong, the robot is hurt and not a colleague," an officer told De Gelderlander.

The EOD was able to explode the powder safely in a nearby field.

Criminals in the drug trafficking network often use the substance, police said, but did not specify its purpose.

There has been a substantial increase in drug labs in the Noord- and Oost-Gelderland police region near the German border. Police discovered 20 drug labs in 2020, compared to three one year earlier. "It is an area with a lot of space and near the border," police said.