Despite plans to live in student digs, the Dutch Crown Princess Amalia canceled her plans on Friday due to security concerns.
As of late Thursday, King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Maxima announced that Amalia, 18, will have to remain behind palace walls.
Details are unclear, but the move follows reports organized crime groups mentioned Amalia and Prime Minister Mark Rutte in their communications, raising fears of kidnapping.
In a country where public figures often move around with little protection, the move comes as a shock to her mother.
A series of high-profile cases involving drug trafficking groups has reinforced fears that the Netherlands is becoming a “narco-state.”
It appears the macro-mafia is targeting a student of 18, according to Dutch reporter Rick Evers.
The Mocro-mafia is a gang of criminals based in Amsterdam that specialize in the Netherlands’ budding drug trade, especially cocaine.
She was pictured beaming when she started university last month, with much attention paid to the fact that she would live in student housing.
Infected Princess Amalia
Dutch king and queen, 55 and 51, disclosed during a state visit to Sweden on Thursday that infected Princess Amalia to remain at the heavily guarded palace.
Queen Maxima, who was clearly emotional, asked how Amalia was doing as a student.
Maxima told me that she has enormous consequences for her life since she cannot live in Amsterdam nor can she go outside (the palace)…
He described Amalia’s situation as “terrible and worrisome” – even though he himself has often ridden a bike around the Hague.
As he told reporters on Friday, “we are doing everything in our power to ensure the safety of the crown princess.”.
Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, Dutch Justice and Security Minister, said organized crime is a “fundamental problem” that her ministry is “working hard to fix.”
It is important to note, however, that the news did not come out of thin air.
One of the Netherlands’ top newspapers reported that Amalia and Rutte’s security had increased significantly.
Organized crime communications
They had appeared in organized crime communications, which could indicate their involvement in an attack or kidnapping.
Additionally, it reported increased scrutiny of alleged “Mocro-Mafia” boss Ridouan Taghi’s communications. Taghi’s gang is link to several high-profile murders.
As an example, there are a number of prominent journalists, including Peter R. De Vries, shot in broad daylight in an Amsterdam street last year, and Derk Wiersum, a defense lawyer.
As a result, the country’s relaxed drug policies have been exploited by criminals to ship massive quantities of cocaine through Europe’s largest port.
Leiden University security expert Jelle van Buuren says the authorities are taking the princess’s threats very seriously.
Van Buuren in interview
In an interview with AFP, Van Buuren said that the threat came from organized crime, and that the threat may come from there.
As a royal reporter, Evers was also at the university entrance ceremony for Amalia to enroll in a Bachelor of Psychology, Politics and Law program.
The number of security guards, both visible and invisible, with weapons hidden in bags increased dramatically,” Evers said.
In comparison with what he was used to, the situation was very unusual for him.
The AFP reports that organized crime has become an important topic in the Netherlands and seems to have spun out of control.
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