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Dutch Prime Minister 'targeted for kidnapping by drug gangs': reports
The threat against Rutte, who is known for riding his bike around town with little security, comes after the Dutch government pledged a crackdown on organised crime groups following the murder of a prominent investigative reporter in August.
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In this file photo taken on March 29, 2012 Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives on his bicycle at Catshuis, the official residence of the Prime Minister, in the Hague. - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte famously likes to cycle to work, but in Europe he is increasingly known for slamming on the brakes. The lanky 53-year-old has been in power for a decade, thanks to a modest image that chimes with traditional values in the bike-mad Netherlands. A bachelor, he lives in the same flat he bought after graduating, drives a second-hand Saab when not cycling, and volunteers as a teacher. (AFP/Evert-Jan Daniels)
D
utch police have stepped up security for Prime Minister Mark Rutte over fears he may be targeted for kidnapping or an attack by drug gangs, local media reports said Monday.
The threat against Rutte, who is known for riding his bike around town with little security, comes after the Dutch government pledged a crackdown on organised crime groups following the murder of a prominent investigative reporter in August.
The 54-year-old centre-right premier has been shadowed by so-called spotters for an notorious drug trafficking gang dubbed the "Mocro Mafia", De Telegraaf newspaper and several broadcasters reported.
Rutte's office, the Dutch national coordinator for security and counterterrorism, and the national prosecutor's office all declined to comment on the reports.
"I am not in a position to comment. We never comment on issues related to security measures," a spokesman for Rutte's office told AFP.
"We never comment on issues concerning the safety or security of individuals," the national security coordinator's office said in an emailed statement.
But De Telegraaf said that there were "signals that he (Rutte) may be the target of an attack or kidnapping", and that "suspicious" people with known links to the Mocro Mafia had been seen near him at different times and places.
