The police arrested a 55-year-old man in his home in Haarlemmermeer on Tuesday on suspicion of child sex tourism, the Public Prosecutor said on Friday.
The man is suspected of sexually abusing multiple minor girls in the Philippines and Thailand and the possession of child pornography, the Prosecutor said. The authorities believe he was about to travel back to the Philippines. "There are no indications that he also abused minors in the Netherlands."
The team chief of the Haarlemmermeer police was suspended so that allegations of sexual harassment against him can be investigated. The man is suspected of sexual assault and texting sexual messages to a female police officer working under him, NRC reports based on sources within the police.
Anja Schouten, the unit chief for the Noord-Holland police, confirmed to NRC that an "exploratory investigation" is ongoing, but would say nothing further.
In a major investigation into so-called criminal facilitators, the FIOD uncovered a large network of drug, weapons and anabolic steroids traffickers. Six people from Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland were arrested over the past months. The FIOD seized 450 thousand euros in cash and bank balances, and over a million euros worth of ecstasy, steroids and medicines, AD reports.
Flights destined for Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport were facing mounting delays on Friday night after new troubles arose with the airport's refuelling system. "Arrival rate has been reduced drastically and delays are now extremely high," Eurocontrol said in a bulletin at 8:20 p.m. The organization later said the refueling system was "out of service due to technical issues until further notice."
The Koninklijke Marechaussee already received 110 complaints about problems with valet parking companies around Schiphol this year. Clients return from their trip to find damage to their car, many extra kilometers on the odometer, or that their car was involved in a traffic accident or caught speeding while they were away, Het Parool reports.
With valet parking, the traveler hands their car over at the airport and the company parks the car elsewhere. When they return, their car is returned to them at the airport or they have to pick it up at a paring lot.
Thousands of passengers were left with few options at Schiphol Airport as hundreds of inbound and outbound flights were canceled or faced hours-long delays. "The situation is not expected to improve until tomorrow morning," said Eurocontrol on Wednesday just before 4:30 p.m. and again at about 8 p.m.
A refueling system problem at Schiphol Airport was likely to cause significant delays to hundreds of departing and arriving flights, the airport said on Wednesday afternoon. The fault in the system was not likely to be resolved before late Wednesday evening, a spokesperson told NU.nl. Thursday morning flights could potentially be affected as well, the spokesperson said.
School's out for summer in northern Netherlands on Friday and that means crowded airports and busy roads. Friday is a peak day for both departures and arrivals at Schiphol, and the airport is therefore expected to be very busy. Sunday is another peak day for departures, according to the airport.
After Friday, the arrivals at Schiphol will taper off somewhat. Saturday's departures is also expected to be very busy.
An investigation into the discovery of cocaine hidden in a flower shipment in January led to a much larger drug bust in April. Ten people were taken into custody who worked for a logistics firm at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam after 160 kilograms of cocaine was found in another flower shipment.
It was not revealed when the arrests took place, but eight of the suspects were still in custody on Thursday.
A 35-year-old American man was arrested at Schiphol Airport on Monday after airport security discovered a loaded firearm in the man’s backpack. The backpack was part of the man’s hand luggage, which was scanned as part of routine security procedures.
Security workers alerted officers from the Marechaussee after the discovery at 7:30 a.m. The suspect was taken into custody, and was still being held a day later. An arraignment hearing in front was expected on Wednesday while the Marechaussee continued its investigation.
An unlicensed taxi driver seen soliciting passengers in Schiphol Plaza at the airport was found in possession of a gun, the Marechaussee said in a statement. The man was held in custody at about 4:20 p.m. on Saturday.
Authorities said the 30-year-old was well-known to authorities. He was questioned at the scene and admitted to offering his services as an unlicensed taxi operator, the statement said.
"When asked if the man had weapons or other illegal items, he said he had a weapon on him. A firearm was found in a neck pouch," the Marechaussee said.
While a court ruled that some trains still have to run between Schiphol and Amsterdam during a nationwide public transit strike on Tuesday, the strike is still expected to cause chaos at the airport. NS hopes that the court-ordered shuttle service will prevent large groups of travelers getting stranded at the Amsterdam airport, but the Dutch rail company warns that it is definitely not sufficient for normal passenger numbers, the Telegraaf reports.
Passengers can still be picked up and dropped off at Schiphol's 'kiss & go' zone for free for the foreseeable future. Schiphol investigated the possibility of charging money for the use of this drop off zone, but that plan has been called back, AT5 reports.
The municipality of Haarlemmermeer never received a request for such a measure, according to the broadcaster. The airport does not have the authority to put a price tag on the access roads, that lies with the municipality.
Relatives will commemorate their loved ones who were killed in the MH17 disaster at the National MH17 Monument in Vijfhuizen on Tuesday. Today is the fourth anniversary of the disaster that claimed 298 lives, including 196 Dutch.
The police fired warning shots during a confrontation with an unknown number of suspects on the parking lot of a retirement home on Nigtevechthof in Amsterdam Zuidoost on Sunday night. Four suspects were arrested after a chase. No one was injured, the police said on Twitter.
Local residents called the police to report shots fired around 10:00 p.m. Witnesses told AT5 that a total of eight shots were fired, six of which happened in quick succession. The police can not yet say whether there was an actual shooting.
Homebuyers in the Netherlands are increasingly turning to the suburbs as home prices in the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague continue to rise, according to homeowners association Vereniging Eigen Huis. First time buyers can no longer afford buying in one of the large cities, AD reports.
Homebuyers in the Netherlands are increasingly turning to the suburbs as home prices in the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague continue to rise, according to homeowners association Vereniging Eigen Huis. First time buyers can no longer afford buying in one of the large cities, AD reports.
Despite Amsterdam's reputation as the world's bicycle city, cars are still king in the Dutch capital, according to a study done by Geodan on behalf of environmental organization Milieudefensie. Motorists take up about 48 percent of Amsterdam's space, while cyclists make do with only 11 percent.
All Dutch provinces except Groningen saw economic growth last year, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Tuesday. Of the four large Dutch cities, Amsterdam saw the biggest growth at 3 percent, The Hague the lowest at 2.2 percent. Rotterdam had the highest unemployment rate in the Netherlands last year at 11.3 percent, far above the national unemployment rate of around 6 percent.
Police in Amsterdam arrested eight suspects connected to a plot to excessively overcharge taxi passengers picked up at Schiphol Airport. In one case investigated by authorities, a Swedish man was ordered to pay 595 euros for a ride from the airport to Amsterdam city center, a taxi fare that normally costs between 40 and 60 euros.
The number of welfare recipients in the Netherlands increased by 4 percent last year, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Tuesday. At the end of December 2016 the Netherlands counted a total of 467 thousand welfare recipients, 18 thousand more than December 2015.
The growth can mainly be attributed to non-Western immigrants, particularly asylum seekers who were given refugee status in the Netherlands last year. After being given a residency permits, refugees can apply for welfare.
On Tuesday the court in Haarlem gave the municipality of Haarlemmermeer to ban taxis from Schiphol who do not have a permit for the official taxi stand at the airport, NOS reports.
The safe detonation of some 30 WWII era bombs will start in a field in Rijsenhout, near Schiphol airport, on Monday. Many explosives are found in the Rijsenhout area as the Germans constructed a mock airfield there during the Second World War to divert attention from Schiphol, Het Parool reports.
A total of 30 bombs were recently found in the area. Four have already been detonated. In the coming weeks explosive experts will set off two more bombs per day. If all goes to plan, the last bomb will be dismantled on January 25th.
Mayor Theo Weterings of Haarlemmermeer wants to ban all taxis at Schiphol who do not have a permit to use the special taxi strip, he announced on Wednesday. He also wants to work with all involved parties to find ways to prevent so-called taxi recruiters from working at the airport in the future, NU.nl reports.
