In brief
Police arrested a 39-year-old man from Rotterdam, a 66-year-old man from The Hague and a 35-year-old man from Westland on Tuesday, 20 October 2026. They are due before an investigating judge on Friday, 23 October.
Three people died after taking pills sold as oxycodone that contained nitazenes, bought through slaappillen.net or regioapp.net. In April 2025, two women from Voorburg and Amsterdam died within a week of each other.
Prosecutors accuse the suspects of intentionally selling products harmful to health with three deaths as a consequence. If proven, the offence can lead to prison sentences of 15 to 30 years.
Police took thirty websites offline and searched five locations, seizing cryptocurrency wallets, cash and servers. Police believe many more victims exist and do not rule out further arrests.
- April 2025Two women from Voorburg and Amsterdam die within a week after ordering oxycodone from Slaappillen.net
- 20 OctThree suspects arrested, thirty websites taken offline and five locations searched
- 23 OctSuspects due before an investigating judge
Three arrests after a long investigation
On Tuesday, 20 October 2026, police arrested three men suspected of running the online drug pharmacy Slaappillen.net and related sites. The suspects are a 39-year-old man from Rotterdam, a 66-year-old man from The Hague and a 35-year-old man from Westland. Police say they handled customer contact and helped build and maintain the websites. Prosecutors accuse the three of intentionally selling products harmful to health, with three deaths as a consequence, an offence that could bring prison sentences of 15 to 30 years if proven. The men are due to appear before an investigating judge on Friday, 23 October.
How the pills killed
The pills looked like the strong painkiller oxycodone but contained nitazenes, synthetic opioids that police describe as many times stronger than oxycodone, which makes an overdose highly likely. Three people died after taking them, having bought the pills shortly before their deaths through slaappillen.net or regioapp.net. In April 2025, two women, one from Voorburg and one from Amsterdam, died within a week of each other after ordering oxycodone from Slaappillen.net. A third woman, from the area around Rotterdam, died later. Police are now convinced there are many more victims. In May 2025 the Trimbos Institute had already reported that counterfeit oxycodone pills containing nitazenes were circulating.
Sites kept running after the shutdown
Slaappillen.net was taken offline last year, but police suspect the suspects kept selling sedatives, sleeping pills and painkillers through new webshops. Customers were sometimes invited directly to the new sites, and each time authorities removed a site, a new variant appeared. In total thirty websites have now been taken offline. Investigators also seized the servers on which the sites ran, which police hope will prevent quick relaunches. The sites offered medicines, including fentanyl, oxycodone and Ozempic, alongside cocaine, ecstasy and speed. In the Netherlands the medicines are available only on prescription through a pharmacy.
Searches and police response
Police searched five locations: three homes, a storage unit in The Hague and a workplace in Bergschenhoek. They seized cryptocurrency wallets, cash and valuables, and took several servers offline for further analysis. Police do not rule out further arrests.
Ron van Brussel, who works at the Landelijke Eenheid Opsporing en Interventies and is responsible for tackling serious organised crime, described the operation's takedown in these words:
“We have brought down the entire technology behind the websites.”
Van Brussel said the takedown makes it harder for the operators to relaunch. Anyone who bought medicines online is advised not to use them and to contact a doctor or pharmacy.