Owner suspected of selling narcotics from Arnhem gay sauna for years
The owner of the now-closed Steamworks gay sauna in Arnhem is suspected of “selling narcotics from his business for years,” the police told Omroep Gelderland. The police are finalizing their investigation and will soon submit it to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), which will decide whether the 51-year-old man will be prosecuted.
The suspect told Omroep Gelderland that the suspicions against him are based on false statements.
The police raided the sauna on Roermondsplein in December and discovered a commercial quantity of cocaine along with several tubes and a bottle containing an unknown liquid. The police also seized multiple envelopes containing cash. Mayor Ahmed Marcouch decided to close the sauna for two weeks.
The owner told Omroep Gelderland that he is “still reeling” from everything that happened. He says he has not been selling narcotics from his business for years, and the police’s suspicion that he did so is based on false statements from a “vindictive person.”
He only sold the erectile drug Kamagra, the owner said. “I don’t know how a judge will view Kamagra,” the man told the broadcaster when asked whether he thinks he’ll be convicted. “This is all very overwhelming and new to me. I’m shocked and bewildered.”
He said that the suspicions “affect him deeply,” but justice must take its course, the man said. “So if the police think something needs to be investigated, I will cooperate with everything.”
The municipality closed the sauna for two weeks after the raid. The owner already indicated that he intended to close the business this year due to health reasons, so it never reopened.
