Hague cop arrested for leaking police info, bribery, stealing uniforms
A Hague police officer was arrested this week on suspicion of “unlawfully accessing police systems, sharing police information with third parties, misappropriating police uniforms, and official bribery,” the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said on Friday.
The cop, a 35-year-old man from Zuidplas, was arrested on Monday, March 30. The Rijksrecherche launched an investigation into the man after the Noord-Nederland police reported that they found police information on his phone during an investigation. The Rijksrecherche is the department that handles internal investigations at government services, like the police.
The man was arraigned on Thursday, and the magistrate suspended his pre-trial detention. “This means that the police officer is allowed to await the trial in freedom,” the OM said. “He remains a suspect, however.”
At the same time as the cop, the police also arrested a 45-year-old woman from the municipality of Zuidplas. The police released her after questioning, so she did not need to be arraigned. She, too, remains a suspect in the investigation.
The OM did not say what the cop is suspected of doing with the misappropriated police uniforms and data. The Netherlands has seen a recent proliferation of fake cop scams, in which criminals dressed as police officers convince often elderly victims to entrust their valuables to them.
