A 76-year-old man from Castricum who sold a suicide powder online will be prosecuted for aiding suicide and money laundering in the second case of its kind, the Volkskrant reported on Friday.

The public prosecution office accuses Tom de M of supplying the suicide powder to over 500 people. Seven of them died in 2021 and 2022 as a result of taking the powder, known in the Netherlands as “substance X”.

The case came to light when the substance was discovered in the blood of a 53-year-old man from Breda who committed suicide in 2021. De M was found to have sent him the powder by post.

The public prosecution office is currently investigating at least 13 other people for supplying the powder but the justice department has yet to decide if they will also be prosecuted, the paper said.

All, including Tom de M, are members of right-to-die organisation Coöperatie Laatste Wil (CLW) which launched the use of the powder in 2017.

Tom de M operated a site called deliveryxpres.com which sold the powder under the guise of  “hobby chemicals”, the Volkskrant found. Charging €150 for two grammes of the powder, he claimed to have acted from “charitable” motives. Buyers were sent the powder after 60 days to give them time to reconsider their decision.

The unnamed powder is used in the chemical industry. When ingested it can take up to 40 hours to work and there is no antidote, experts have said. Selling the powder is not an offence in itself unless the purpose is to help someone take their own life. Under Dutch law, it is illegal to help someone to die, unless a doctor acts under the strict terms of euthanasia legislation.

The large-scale investigation into the sale of substance X is the second of its kind. In July, a court in Den Bosch sentenced Alex S to 3.5 years in jail, 18 months suspended, for supplying the suicide powder to at least 10 people who killed themselves. Both the public prosecutor and Alex S are appealing the sentence.

Anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts can talk or chat anonymously with the helpline 113.nl or call the free number 0800-0113.