Dutch police uncover 'torture chamber,' makeshift prison; 6 arrested
Police conducted the raid before it was used and alerted potential victims, who went into hiding
Published 12 mins ago
Six men were arrested after Dutch police discovered sea containers that had been converted into a makeshift prison and sound-proofed “torture chamber” complete with a dentist’s chair, tools, including pliers and scalpels, and handcuffs, a high-ranking officer announced Tuesday.
Authorities said police conducted the raid before the torture chamber could be used and alerted potential victims, who went into hiding.
The grisly discovery was made last month by officers investigating leads generated by data from encrypted phones used by criminals. The communications network was cracked recently by French police.
Detectives in Britain and the Netherlands have already arrested hundreds of suspects based on the encrypted messages.
Tuesday’s announcement gave a chilling insight into the increasingly violent Dutch criminal underworld, which is involved in the large-scale production and trafficking of drugs.
Dutch police said last week that their investigations, code-named 26Lemont, based on millions of messages from the EncroChat phones, had led to the arrest of more than 100 suspects and seizure of more than 17,600 pounds of cocaine and 2,600 pounds of crystal meth as well as the dismantling of 19 synthetic drugs labs and seizure of dozens of firearms.
On June 22, Dutch national police force officers arrested six men on suspicion of crimes, including preparing kidnappings and serious assault.
Detectives also discovered the seven converted sea containers in a warehouse in Wouwse Plantage, a small village in the southwestern Netherlands, close to the border with Belgium, according to a statement released Tuesday.
In this grab taken from video made available by the Netherlands Police on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, a view of a sea container equipped as a torture chamber, in Wouwse Plantage, Netherlands. Dutch police say they have arrested six men after discovering sea containers that had been converted into a makeshift prison and sound-proofed “torture chamber” complete with a dentist’s chair, tools including pliers and scalpels and handcuffs. (Netherlands Police via AP)
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