Police arrested three suspects accused of running illegal online shops that sold drugs including sedatives, tranquillisers and painkillers, and took 30 websites and their servers offline. Police said the suspects had a key role in setting up and operating replacement sites after Slaappillen.net was closed, including sites to which some former customers were directly invited.

The suspects, men aged 35 from Kwintsheul, 39 from Rotterdam and 66 from The Hague, are suspected of selling and supplying illegal drugs in connection with three deaths. Police linked the deaths to counterfeit oxycodone pills containing nitazenes, synthetic substances with a high overdose risk. Searches were also carried out and crypto wallets and supplies of illegal drugs were seized; further arrests are not ruled out.