Police have discovered underground chambers at a trailer park in Oss which had been used to hide an ‘arsenal of weapons’.

Eight Kalashnikovs, two M16 machine guns, a sten gun and six hand guns were among the haul found in the chambers, which had been equipped with security cameras, police say.

The arms were uncovered during a three day search of the camp which started last week and resulted in the arrest of three residents on drugs and illegal weapons charges.

‘This haul emphasises the violent nature of this criminal network,’ police said in a statement. Hundreds of offices were used in the search.

Three men, all related, were arrested at the start of the raid – two on the camp itself and one, said to be the ringleader, in a police roadblock.

He was named by police as Martien R and, police say, is head of a crime family involved in drugs smuggling and production as well as weapons trading.

‘We know this family and we have had our suspicions about them,’ a spokesman for the public prosecution department told broadcaster NOS. ‘They did not have legal jobs or file tax returns.’

All three men appeared in court on Friday and were remanded in custody.