Police carried out dawn raids on several houses in the town of Culemborg on Tuesday morning, arresting seven youngsters said to be the ringleaders of a major youth gang.

Around 100 police officers and justice ministry officials were involved in the swoops in the town, some 20 km south east of Utrecht, news agency ANP reported.

The youths are aged 16 to 20 and are suspected of carrying out around 250 burglaries and attempted break-ins. They are also said to have carried out money laundering and caused considerable public nuisance in the area where they live.

‘Locals and police officers were shouted at, intimidated and followed by gang members,’ a police spokeswoman is quoted as saying. Further arrests have not been ruled out.

Police have been monitoring the gang since August and say it has a fluctuating membership of around 50 people. The seven youths arrested are key gang members and will probably appear in court on Friday.