Amsterdam police investigating an international cocaine ring found 12.8 million euros in cash. Police said the wrapped bundles of paper money was a "record amount", seized over two weeks ago during a search of five homes on September 12.
Seven people were arrested at four of the homes, including two Colombian women and a Colombian man, two Albanian men, a man from Morocco, and another from New Zealand.
Festim Lato, an Albanian politician recently found murdered in the Amsterdam-Rijn canal, had his own private army in the Gelderland village of Afferden, where he lived. Various Dutch authorities were aware of this, but did not intervene, the Telegraaf reports based on sources and its own research.
A 43-year-old Albanian man was found dead in the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal at Nigtevecht on Friday afternoon. The victim is Festin Lato, the president of the unrecognized republic of Chameria, a region on the border of Albania and Greece that has been fighting for independence for years, De Gelderlander reports based on reports in Albanian media and confirmation from two of Lato's friends.
An exam assignment for Police Academy students in Rotterdam led to the arrest of a suspect who has an outstanding prison sentence of eight years in Albania. What the man was convicted of in the Balkan country, the police did no say, AD reports.
For the assignment, the police officers in training organized a check on Willemsplein with the Tax Authority. In addition to the fugitive's arrest, the action also yielded over 57 thousand euros in outstanding debts, 10 fines, two confiscated knives, a confiscated firearm, and 13 confiscated cars.
A 47-year-old man from Greece was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking in the Zeeland town of Colijnsplaat on Saturday. He was caught smuggling eight people on a sailboat sailing under the Belgian flag, the Koninklijke Marechaussee said on Monday, NU.nl reports.
The eight people were found in the boat's cabin during a check in the port of Colijnsplaat. The Marechaussee - a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military - believe they come from Albania and were being smuggled to England.
The investigation is ongoing.
Albanian criminals are increasingly playing leading roles in organized crime in Amsterdam, according to a so-called trend analysis by the Amsterdam police. They are mainly engaged in cocaine trafficking, but also in human trafficking and property fraud, NU.nl reports.
According to the police, these Albanian criminals lead the cocaine import from South America, the transhipment via the port of Rotterdam, and the further distribution to other European countries from Amsterdam. In addition to the Netherlands, Albanians are also very active in the drug trade in Great Britain.
The Dutch police arrested an Albanian murder suspect during a traffic check on the A13 near Rotterdam this weekend, according to the Telegraaf. The man, Hektor Mahmutai (41), is on Albania's most wanted list for murder and the possession of military weapons.
The police pulled him over because he was driving in a rental car of a company with a suspicious reputation, according to the newspaper. His story was vague, so the police decided to check his papers.
Dutch harbors with ferries to England are increasingly faced with Albanians trying to secretly cross to the United Kingdom, according to the Volkskrant. Over the past few months, hundreds of Albanian stowaways were caught in IJmuiden, Hoek van Holland, Europoort and Vlissingen.
While the number of caught stowaways is comparable to last year - 440 in the first half of this year - the proportion of Albanians among them is increasing steadily, especially in Hoek van Holland and Europoort. In those two ports 92 percent of the caught stowaways were Albanian.
The number of Albanians applying for asylum in the Netherlands increased explosively since the summer, to the point that they are now the biggest group seeking asylum in the country. About 250 Albanians apply for asylum in the Netherlands each month, the Ministry of Security and Justice said
About a quarter of the people who submitted asylum application in the Netherlands during the first months of 2016 will likely be refused a residency permit and sent back to their home countries. This is because these people came from countries that are considered "safe" and therefore only qualify for refugee status in exceptional circumstances.
Two Dutchmen were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking after 25 undocumented migrants were found hiding in a yacht in the port of IJmuiden on Saturday
Amsterdam police tactical teams arrested three Albanian men in three different locations in the city, early on Monday morning. The three men are suspected of drug trafficking, police stated in a press release.
A second suspect was arrested in Slovenia in the investigation into the January 15 shooting on Bovenstraat in Rotterdam that killed two men.
Two exhibition matches of Dutch football teams last week in Spain might have been fixed games, according to the analyses of a gambling expert and the International Center for Sport Security (ICSS). Most likely the teams, ADO Den Hague and SC Heerenveen, were not aware of the score manipulation, the analysts state.
Five people were killed in the fire on the ferry Norman Atlantic. This was confirmed by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzy and the Greek Minister for the Merchant Navy, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis. The Italian Navy has announced that all other passengers were rescued.
More than 250 passengers are still awaiting rescue more than 24 hours after the outbreak of a fire on a ferry on the Adriatic Sea. The rescue services were working through the night, but the darkness and dense smoke hampered the work. There were 4 Dutch citizens on board the burning ferry.
Police the Amsterdam arrested three suspects on suspicion of money laundering after finding 500,000 euros in cash. The majority of the money was found in a gym bag and a shopping bag in one suspect's temporary residence.
Minister Ivo Opstelten (Security and Justice) has approved the extradition of Albanian murderer, but The Hague court ruled against his extradition on Tuesday and the Albanian will not be extradited.
Customs intercepted 130 kilograms of cocaine in the port of Rotterdam. The drugs have a market value of 4.5 million euro.
Minister Frans Timmermans (Foreign Affairs) does not want to the "dirty work" for other European countries by prematurely opposing Albany's membership. He will look for allies within Europe to support his position.
Dutch broadcaster AvroTros told esctoday.com that the Netherlands will take part at the approaching 2014 Eurovision Song Contest in Denmark.
