Suspects arrested in mystery drink case that killed Utrecht train cleaner, injured two
Two men were arrested this week in connection with the death of a train cleaner who fell ill while in the rail yard at the Utrecht Central Station. It was later determined that the 46-year-old, and another colleague who later collapsed, had drank from a bottle containing the liquified form of the drug, MDMA. The two suspects were also being held along with two others on allegations they were involved in a separate, similar incident that left another man permanently injured.
The incident involving the two train cleaners working for Vebego took place on July 9, 2024. The 49-year-old Amsterdam man was found unresponsive at about 4 a.m., and was taken to an area hospital where he died a day later. His colleague, a 63-year-old from Utrecht, passed out on the street near the rail yard.
“It was determined that, after work, they had drunk from a bottle containing liquid MDMA,” police said in an update on Wednesday. Of the four suspects in custody, one was previously detained and questioned two months after the incident after police featured the case on crime watch program Opsporing Verzocht.
This was then followed by another incident on December 21 of that year in Capelle aan den IJssel. A 46-year-old man was left permanently injured after he became unwell in his home following a drink. He had been taken to the hospital by a relative who felt a sense of unease regarding the situation and called the police. The subsequent investigation showed that the man had drunk liquified MDMA.
The two primary suspects are additionally accused of involvement in a criminal organization in violation of the Dutch Opium Act. All four suspects are currently in custody for questioning.
During the investigation, detectives from the Central Netherlands and Rotterdam police units jointly searched two homes.
