Dutch police who arrested 20 people this week in raids on members of the notorious Bandidos motorcycle gang – involved in a shootout in Waco, Texas, earlier this month that left nine dead – say they found a large cache of weapons, including five rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
The Dutch Hell’s Angels were once the most feared motorcycle gang in western Europe, but last year the Bandidos started their first local “chapter” in the southern city of Sittard, and police say they’re becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of a “war” between the two gangs.
Gangs are described by America’s justice department as “a growing criminal threat to the US law enforcement authorities”.
A report on “outlaw” motorcycle gangs last year said the Bandidos were deeply involved in the distribution of cocaine and marijuana and in the production of methamphetamines.
Limburg locations
The scale of the Dutch raids reflected the seriousness with which they’re regarded in America, with some 400 armed police backed by helicopters targeting 30 locations in the province of Limburg in the south of the
Netherlands
and across the local borders in
Belgium
and
Germany
.
The mayor of Maastricht, Onno Hoes, said police had taken the “tough action” that had been necessary to restore order in an area plagued in recent months by what police have confirmed were “gangland attacks”, including a drive-by shooting at a gang leader’s home and an attack using explosives.
Unusually, the local prosecutor, Roger Bos, called a news conference after the raids and said the 20 people – 19 men and one woman – arrested were suspected of a range of crimes, including extortion, drug trafficking and money-laundering.
Arms haul
Limburg police chief Gerry Veldhuis said that, as well as the five rocket-propelled grenade launchers, items recovered included six automatic handguns and large quantities of ammunition, an ecstasy laboratory, a cannabis plantation, counterfeit money and stolen cars.
The Dutch Hell’s Angels and now the Bandidos are not the only gangs allegedly involved in criminal activity in the Netherlands – including drugs, prostitution, and weapons smuggling (the latter often from the former Yugoslavia).
The Moluccan gang Satudarah has 44 chapters across the country and has been expanding rapidly to Germany, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, as well as to Malaysia and Indonesia as a result of links from the Netherlands’ colonial past.
In an effort to reassure the public, the government has forced the closure of some bikers’ clubhouses in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Enschede, but legal options are limited because most are registered as clubs and are protected by the right to free association.
However, recently appointed justice minister Ard van der Steur has indicated that he plans to adopt a zero-tolerance approach – and has warned that he’s looking into the possibility of banning the motorcycle gangs altogether.
