The police have found 39 guns, including 20 automatic weapons, and sacks of ammunition in a string of searches of homes, storage boxes and garages in Rotterdam and its surrounding area.

Most of the weapons were found in two garages in Ridderkerk. Police also turned up bags of ketamine, amphetamines and more than 100 jerrycans of chemicals for use in making synthetic drugs.

Five men were arrested, ranging in age from 32 to 62 and were remanded in custody on Friday.

The raids follow a sixth-month investigation in the wake of a tip-off. ‘We rarely see so many weapons in one investigation, certainly not of this calibre,’ regional police chief Brigit Nolden said. ‘The number and type of weapons indicates that the suspects were involved in major weapons trading.’