Three men have been arrested in Amsterdam for the possession of weapons and hand grenades, the public prosecution department said on Monday.

The three were picked up on Friday at different locations. Two of the men were heavily armed when they were arrested. A search of their homes turned up guns, machine guns and hand grenades.

Police said the arrests were the result of their new focus. ‘Last year we decided to focus on disrupting their activities as well as tracking down serious criminals,’ a police spokesman said. ‘We have seen more automatic weapons are being used and that is extremely worrying.’

There have been a number of gangland killings in Amsterdam in recent weeks. On Saturday a man, described as being ‘known to the police’, was shot dead in Amsterdam Zuid.