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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 8 July 2020
Dutch police arrest 6 men, uncover makeshift torture chamber

By MIKE CORDER improvised prison. Another
Associated Press armed team detained a
THE HAGUE, Netherlands suspect in Rotterdam.
(AP) — Dutch police ar- "Six of the containers were
rested six men after dis- intended as cells in which
covering sea containers people could be tied up
that had been converted and one container was in-
into a makeshift prison and tended as a torture cham-
sound-proofed "torture ber," Andy Kraag, head of
chamber" complete with a the police's National Inves-
dentist's chair, tools includ- tigation Service, said in a
ing pliers and scalpels and video released by police,
handcuffs, a high ranking adding that the police op-
officer announced Tues- eration "prevented a num-
day. ber of violent crimes."
Authorities said police con- A search of the containers
ducted the raid before the uncovered bags contain-
torture chamber could be ing tools including hedge
used and alerted potential cutters, scalpels and pli-
victims, who went into hid- ers. The tools "were likely
ing. In this grab taken from video made available by the Netherlands Police on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, intended to torture victims
The grisly discovery was a view of a sea container equipped as a torture chamber, in Wouwse Plantage, Netherlands. or at least put them under
made last month by of- Associated Press pressure," the police state-
ficers investigating leads ment said.
generated by data from Dutch police said last week tional police force officers tos of the container and In searches of other prop-
encrypted phones used by that their investigations, arrested six men on suspi- dentist's chair with belts at- erties, including what po-
criminals. The communica- code-named 26Lemont, cion of crimes including tached to the arm and foot lice described as a base for
tions network was cracked based on millions of mes- preparing kidnappings and supports. The messages the criminals near the port
recently by French police. sages from the EncroChat serious assault. Detectives called the warehouse the city of Rotterdam, officers
Detectives in Britain and phones, had led to the also discovered the seven "treatment room" and the found police uniforms and
the Netherlands have al- arrest of more than 100 converted sea containers "ebi," a reference to a top body armor, stolen vehi-
ready arrested hundreds of suspects and seizure of in a warehouse in Wouwse security Dutch prison. The cles, 25 firearms and drugs.
suspects based on the en- more than 8,000 kilograms Plantage, a small village in messages also reaveled A court in Amsterdam or-
crypted messages. (17,600 pounds) of cocaine the southwestern Nether- identities of potential vic- dered the six suspects held
Tuesday's announcement and 1,200 kilograms (2,600 lands, close to the border tims, who were warned and for 90 days as investigations
gave a chilling insight into pounds) of crystal meth as with Belgium, according to went into hiding, police continue.
the increasingly violent well as the dismantling of a statement released Tues- said. Video released by the "This is a great result of the
Dutch criminal underworld, 19 synthetic drugs labs and day. police showed a heavily 26Lemont investigation,"
which is involved in the seizure of dozens of fire- They were tipped off by armed arrest team blasting Kraag said. "And, take it
large scale production and arms. messages from an Encro- open a door at the ware- from me, many more results
trafficking of drugs. On June 22, Dutch na- Chat phone including pho- house and discovering the will follow."q
EU forecasts deeper economic hit from pandemic

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN on Tuesday that showed The group of 19 EU nations
BRUSSELS (AP) — The Eu- industrial production re- that use the euro as their
ropean Union's execu- bounded in May but was currency will see a record
tive arm forecasts that the far from making up for the economic decline of 8.7%
bloc's economy will con- collapse of the preceding this year, and grow by 6.1%
tract more than previously months. in 2021. In May it had fore-
expected because of the Gentiloni said that the EU's cast a 7.8% decline this
coronavirus pandemic, biggest challenge in the year, and growth of 6.3% in
which has caused lock- months to come will be to 2021.
downs on business and find the right balance be- Although the EU as a whole
public life that are only tween the necessity to re- has been hard-hit by the
slowly being eased. open EU economies and downturn, Gentiloni said
The 27-nation EU economy the protection of citizens' the drop and the rebound
will contract by 8.3% this health. More than 178,000 will differ widely from one
year, before growing 5.8% European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni speaks deaths related to COV- member country to an-
during a media conference on the summer 2020 economic
in 2021, according to the forecast at EU headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, July 7, 2020. ID-19 have been recorded other. For instance, while
latest predictions released Associated Press across the continent ac- Poland's economy is set
Tuesday by the European cording to the latest num- to shrink by 4.6% this year,
Commission. leased in May, when most economic activity in 2020 bers from the European France, Italy and Spain are
"The road to recovery is still of the continent was still will be worse than expect- Centre for Disease Preven- expected to experience
paved with uncertainty," under lockdown, GDP was ed because "the lifting of tion and Control. double-digit drops.
EU Economy Commissioner forecast to contract by lockdown measures is pro- "We have to live with the To ensure a quick bounce
Paolo Gentiloni told report- about 7.5% this year and to ceeding at a more gradual danger of local outbreaks" back, Gentiloni urged
ers in Brussels. "This is mostly bounce back by 6% next pace than assumed in our that could lead to plans to member states to adopt as
linked to the epidemiologi- year. Spring forecast." re-enter local lockdowns soon as possible a recovery
cal uncertainty." The European Commis- That was illustrated in sepa- slowing down the econom- fund aimed at pulling the
In the previous forecasts re- sion said the impact on rate data from Germany ic recovery, Gentiloni said. EU out of the recession.q