A resident of the asylum seekers’ centre in Middelburg went to the police because he feared his roommate wanted to kill him for knowing too much about his trade in weapons and drugs.[1] On 12 June 2025 he told police that his 37-year-old Turkish roommate dealt in weapons and drugs from the centre and gave information about other people involved and a storage location.[1] Police acted the same day, arresting the 37-year-old main suspect and a 24-year-old man near Vrouwenpolder and finding a firearm in their car.[1] On 4 November 2026 the court in Middelburg sentenced the 24-year-old passenger to three years in prison and a 27-year-old man found in Duivendrecht to one year in prison.[2]

A search of a premises in Duivendrecht recovered ten more firearms, ammunition and more than 83 kg of hennep and hashish, where officers also arrested the 27-year-old man.[1] Police described the Duivendrecht stash as eight pistols and two revolvers alongside eighty kilos of soft drugs, namely hennep and hashish.[3] Prosecutors said both men made an essential contribution from February to June 2025 to the network that traded weapons and drugs from a room in the Middelburg asylum centre, with the younger man playing the larger role.[2] The 24-year-old was convicted for his role in firearms trafficking and possession of weapons and drugs, while the 27-year-old was convicted for involvement in arms trafficking but acquitted of possessing the weapons and drugs in the premises.[1]

Both men denied any involvement at trial and called the informant a paranoid addict, but the court rejected their denials.[1] The case against the 37-year-old main suspect will be dealt with separately, and the man who warned the police is himself a suspect whose case has yet to come to court.[1]