Three men remain in custody after Haarlem station bag alert

Parts of Utrecht Centraal and Haarlem Centraal were temporarily cordoned off on Tuesday after unattended luggage was found. Train services at Haarlem were also temporarily halted. [1]

At Utrecht, an explosives specialist examined two bags and found nothing dangerous. Two people were arrested for leaving their bags unattended. The other three arrests were at Haarlem, where a police spokesperson told ANP that nothing suspicious had been found in unattended suitcases. Those arrested there are suspected of disturbing public order. [1]

Unattended bags were also found earlier at Rotterdam Centraal and in Dordrecht. At Rotterdam, a suitcase owner came forward and nothing dangerous was found inside. Police are investigating the circumstances; whether the incidents are connected remains unclear. [1]

Update

Haarlem, Utrecht Centraal, Rotterdam Centraal and Dordrecht were all released after partial or full evacuations prompted by unattended luggage on Tuesday morning, NOS reported in an update at 13:15. [3]

Checks found no dangerous contents in the bags at Utrecht, while luggage examined at Dordrecht contained only clothes. Nothing suspicious was found at any of the four stations. [3]

Whether the incidents were connected remains unclear. A ProRail spokesperson told NOS that a possible link was being investigated, while a police spokesperson said officers saw no connection at that point. [3]

Update

Three men arrested on Tuesday in connection with unattended luggage at Haarlem railway station remain in custody for questioning and further investigation, ANP reported on Wednesday in a report published by Nieuws.nl. Police said the men are aged 37, 37 and 62 and have no fixed address. Their roles and involvement are still being investigated. [4]