Recognizing and reporting suspicious situations (reporting center for subversion)

Report suspicious situations/crime/fraud anonymously 

A restaurant or hair salon that never has any customers. Goods being loaded and unloaded at unusual times at a (commercial) property. A tenant who only wants to pay large sums in cash. A neighbor who always has their windows covered. Someone who is registered at an address other than their actual place of residence. An acquaintance with a car that is far too expensive and a small wallet. 
Perhaps the above situations sound familiar to you. These are signs that may indicate subversion.

What is subversion?

Criminals commit crimes to earn money or gain power and prestige. Drug trafficking is one example of this. Drug trafficking cannot exist without the purchase of raw materials, production, storage, smuggling, and sale. 

To this end, criminals also make use of non-criminal services and service providers such as transport companies, banks, lawyers, real estate agents, property landlords, etc. They also approach government organizations such as municipalities, for example to obtain permits, whether or not through an intermediary. Criminals also establish themselves and their activities in residential areas, with all the consequences that this has for quality of life and safety. For example, cannabis farms and drug laboratories pose a high risk of fire or explosion.

This is how criminal activities (the underworld) become intertwined with the non-criminal upper world. This intertwining has far-reaching consequences. Another word for this intertwining is undermining. 

Reporting is always worthwhile

You can help combat subversion by being alert to signs of subversion and reporting these signs anonymously. You are our eyes and ears on the street. A gut feeling or suspicion about suspicious activities is sufficient reason to report it. Your report may be the missing piece of the puzzle in an ongoing investigation or may lead to further investigation.

Will the suspicious neighbor be arrested immediately after you report it? No! After you report it, a thorough investigation will be conducted to determine what is actually happening at the location. If it turns out that nothing is wrong, that is also good to know. Because your report can only be made anonymously, you will not receive any feedback.  

Ways to report suspicious situations 

You can report your signal anonymously using the report button at the top of this page. 
You can also report it via Report Crime Anonymously, by telephone on 0800-7000 or online atwww.meldmisdaadanoniem.nl. You can also call the police on 0900-8844 (if you do not need to remain anonymous). Is your report urgent or is it a case of flagrante delicto? Then call 112!

Signs that may indicate a hemp farm or drug lab

  • Smell of hemp or sweet chemical odor
  • noise pollution such as a humming sound from extraction systems or mechanical noises
  • additional vent pipes in the roof
  • enhanced air supply and exhaust
  • bright glow of artificial light and flashing lamps
  • light that is always on or especially at night
  • construction and moving activities at odd hours
  • warm walls, no snow on the roof when it snows
  • condensation on windows
  • taped-up windows or systematically closed curtains
  • residents who are rarely at home or only at fixed times
  • Surveillance cameras
  • Coming and going of vans, small trucks or other vehicles
  • Presence of jerry cans or blue barrels
  • Evasive behavior of the tenant/resident.

Signs that may indicate human trafficking

Human trafficking may be involved if someone:

  • has not arranged a trip or visa themselves;
  • is in possession of a false passport or cannot access his/her passport;
  • residing illegally in the Netherlands;
  • has to pay an unreasonable portion of his/her income;
  • cannot access the money in his/her own bank account;
  • does not receive medical assistance;
  • has little or no contact with the outside world and/or has limited freedom of movement;
  • blackmailed, extorted, or threatened (sometimes by one's own family);
  • works exceptionally long hours;
  • shows signs of physical abuse;
  • lives in a company building or on company premises, or
  • does not have his/her own living space and/or does not know his/her address.

Signs that may indicate money laundering

  • A company that does not have a website;
  • entrepreneurs with a (luxurious) lifestyle that they would not normally be able to afford from their business;
  • a company that continues to exist even though it has (almost) no customers;
  • unclear business activities;
  • preference for cash payment.