AMSTERDAM // Dutch police say they arrested seven people on suspicion of preparing a "terrorist" attack in Amsterdam including a relative of one of the attackers who died in the 2004 bombings in Madrid.
Earlier on Thursday, Dutch authorities sealed off a major Amsterdam shopping street as a result of the threat, while police conducted house searches.
District Attorney Herman Bolhaar said those arrested include six men and one woman, aged 19-64. All are Dutch nationals of Moroccan ancestry and none are believed to have a history of terrorist involvement.
The Dutch police commissioner, Bernard Welten, told a news conference in the country's capital that police received a telephone call on Wednesday night "warning that three men were planning to carry out an attack with explosives in Amsterdam."
The call came from Brussels and named home furnishing retailers Ikea among other large stores to be targeted.
Following up on the information, police on Thursday morning prevented dozens of shops, a movie theatre and the Ikea store from opening their doors to the public "to prevent any explosives from entering," said Mr Welten.
Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen said that Wednesday's call had warned of "an action with the aim of claiming casualties in busy places.
"We couldn't take any risks," he said about the closure of shops, adding that "we do not yet have sufficient information to lift" the security measures.
The officials would not say anything about the caller's motives or the veracity of the threat.
A police statement earlier said the threat, which it said "should be taken seriously" had caused an appearance by American band The Killers at the Heineken Music Hall to be postponed.
Dozens of shops remained closed throughout the day. Most had not yet opened their doors in the morning when the area was closed off. Several employees were evacuated.
Wim Kok, a spokesman for the office of the national antiterrorism coordinator, said there was no reason to raise the terror alert.
Janna Langlere, a promoter for the Arena Boulevard affected by the closure, said the threat was received by Ikea in the morning, apparently aimed at all "megastores."
"This is a lost business day. We have had telephone calls about claims for damages [by shop owners], and it is being looked into."
*AFP and AP
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
