Dutch military police have arrested six men for drug smuggling at Schiphol airport.

The men, who were arrested over several months, all worked at companies operating from Schiphol, allowing them easy access to the airport, the Marechaussee said on social media.  

An anonymous tip about cocaine hidden in pallets coming from Suriname prompted an investigation by police, customs and the tax office criminal investigation unit FIOD.

“We found that we were dealing with an “airport broker”, a person who approached people who work at the airport to smuggle drugs. (..)  They were well-organised and their passes allowed them to be at the airport. You need people in different areas to be able to get the drugs past security,” a police spokesman told broadcaster NOS.

A former airport worker, a 48-year-old man from Diemen, liaised between the broker and the other workers. The men had positions in logistics, transport and package delivery at the airport.

During raids of the men’s homes in Almere Amsterdam and Diemen, police confiscated documents, expensive cars, and €124,000 in cash and cryptocurrencies.

Police said criminal activity at the airport is difficult to eradicate. “People are people. If they are prepared to look away when things like this happen for a wad of cash, we must do all we can to prevent it from happening,” he said.

The six men, aged between 32 and 51, will be tried as members of a criminal organisation, the public prosecutor said. “These people all had a security pass. Sometimes one or two people are arrested who have passes but in this case, there were six and that is a serious matter,” the spokesman said.

Some 60,000 people work at Schiphol who have all been screened.