Two Dutch arrests after 120,000 kg of illegal fireworks found in German bunkers

Police in the Netherlands arrested two suspects in the investigation into the discovery of more than 120,000 kilograms of illegal fireworks in German bunkers at the beginning of November. It was the Dutch police’s largest-ever fireworks seizure.

The suspects are a 26-year-old man from Olst and a 28-year-old man from Raalte. They will be questioned, and will face an examining magistrate on Friday. It is unclear what crime they are alleged to have committed, or how they could be connected to the fireworks. More arrests in the case are possible.

The fireworks were found in former NATO bunkers in Rheine, Germany, just across the border from Enschede. Authorities presume they were intended for the Dutch private market. There were legal and illegal fireworks mixed together.

In some cases, the cargo was disguised by falsifying stickers that described the hazard level of the material. This resulted in boxes containing fireworks that were more powerful than indicated.

The bunkers in question were used as a collection point for middlemen, who collected the fireworks in an unsafe manner with rented vans and passenger cars, police said. The discovery was made in close cooperation with the German police.