Belgians search for secret Dutch mob graves

26 April 2004

AMSTERDAM — Belgian police officers used sniffer dogs on Monday as they began combing the woods at Opglabbeek for signs of human remains. The search was reportedly instigated by claims made by a man convicted of multiple murders.

Newspaper De Telegraaf claimed the Dutch public prosecutor in Maastricht had called on the Belgians to conduct the search.

Neither the Dutch or Belgian authorities have responded to media questions about the operation, except to say it relates to a case “which is several years old”.

De Telegraaf and other Dutch media outlets cited unnamed sources involved in the investigation as saying the Belgian wood may have been used by Dutch criminals to bury their murder victims.

Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg cited unnamed sources as saying the police were looking for the remains of two people from Belgian Limburg. The paper named the alleged victims as Marc Nevens from Sint-Truiden and his girlfriend Greta Meugens from Maasmechelen.

The couple disappeared in 1996 in Geleen in the Netherlands and it was assumed at the time they were killed by a gang trading in the drug ecstasy.

De Telegraaf added that the search was initiated following comments made to officials by a man serving a life sentence for several murders.

The man was brought to the wood in handcuffs and leg irons last week to see if he could help identify areas where bodies may have been buried.

Once he had pointed out several locations, he was returned to jail and the Belgian police began removing undergrowth and leaves to help in the search.

Subject: Dutch news + Belgian news