12 July 2007

AMSTERDAM – The municipality of Amsterdam and the national government are going to cooperate to crack down on organised crime in the red light district.

Mayor Job Cohen has made agreements on this with Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, Home Affairs Minister Guusje ter Horst and State secretary for Finance Jan Kees de Jager.

"Operation Emergo" will investigate the prostitution area and chart out the structures of organised crime operating there as accurately as possible. Coordinated actions by police, justice, the city and the tax service will then be undertaken to dismantle the criminal organisations active in the city.

The city has already tightened its grip on the red light district over the past year, but mainly tackled businesses operating "above ground." In order to tackle the "underworld" the municipality needs reliable information from police, justice and the tax service.

Amsterdam is very concerned about the mixing of "above ground" legitimate business and illegal "underground" dealings in the district. That is particularly the case with money laundering in real estate and in prostitution, the coffeeshops and other establishments in the neighbourhood. Tackling this kind of crime is difficult because it is seldom reported.

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Dutch news