Three suspects held for another 14 days in Dutch counterfeit-pill case, ANP reports

Three men arrested in a Dutch investigation into counterfeit pills were to be held for a further 14 days after appearing before an investigating judge in Den Bosch on 23 October, ANP reported, citing the public prosecutor’s office. Police have linked the suspected online sales to three deaths.

The men, aged 35, 39 and 66, were arrested on 20 October. Police suspect them of deliberately selling products harmful to health through websites offering illegal medicines and drugs. According to police, three people died after taking tablets that looked like the painkiller oxycodone but contained nitazenes, potent synthetic opioids. The three had bought pills shortly before their deaths through slaappillen.net or regioapp.net.

Police also took 30 websites offline and seized servers during the investigation. Ron van Brussel, a police official, told NOS that removing the technology behind the sites would make it harder for the shops to restart. He said other groups still operated similar sites.