Police have arrested a 26-year-old man from Groningen on suspicion of terrorist activities.
His DNA was found on weapons that were found in an IS safehouse near Paris, two days after the 2016 terror attacks in Brussels. After his arrest on Monday, police found a shotgun and a handgun in his home.
The safehouse in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil was discovered and raided two days after the suicide bombings on Zaventhem Airport and the Molenbeek subway station in Brussels, in which 32 civilians died. French police found five Kalashnikov assault rifles, several handguns, 30 kilos of explosives, fake passports and jihadist propaganda in the home.
According to the French authorities, raiding the hideout and arresting its tenant, French jihadi Réda K., prevented a serious terrorist attack. Further investigations led police to believe that the weapons found in the raid originated from the Netherlands. DNA traces of four Dutchmen, including the man from Groningen, were found on the weapons and on a sports bag that was found in the hideout.
On Monday, police arrested two of the four men, one in Groningen and one in Rotterdam. Two other men were already in prison for other offences. The suspects will be questioned about their involvement in terrorist activities.
