Trial begins in 2024 Rotterdam drug lab explosion that left three dead

The trial of Jalal O. in the case of the deadly January 2024 explosion on Schammenkamp in Rotterdam-Zuidwijk starts on Monday. Prosecutors argue that a cocaine wash lab on the suspect’s business premises caused the explosion. Three died: O.’s nephew Ilyass, 22; colleague Mustapha, 32; and neighboring bathroom contractor Kamran, 43. O. has been awaiting the trial with an ankle monitor, AD reports. During the process he will face the prosecutors who hold him responsible for the existence of the drug lab and the three deaths.

Following the explosion, O. was first seen as a hero when he climbed the police cordon to help search for bodies. He was arrested days later, and no other living suspects have been charged. O. denies knowing about the existence of the drug lab, saying he only uses the space for construction work and had sublet part of it to Mustapha.

The explosion occurred on the evening of January 29, 2024, instantly killing the three men. Because of the collapse risk, emergency crews could not immediately start looking for bodies. O. then climbed the police cordon to start searching himself, after which journalists flooded him with attention.

The blast destroyed several garage boxes and the apartments above them. Firefighters needed 12 hours to put out the huge blaze.

Upper-floor neighbor Ignacio, 66, managed to get out safely but barely survived. He fell through the floor, dropped 6 meters, and ended up “in a volcano.”

At the time of the blast, O’s neighbor Kamran, who had a bathroom business, was in an adjacent building video-calling a customer about a new job. Then, suddenly, the customer saw the screen go black, Afran, Kamran's twin brother, told EenVandaag.

The brother said that the businessman was not supposed to be at his office on that evening. He was meant to drive to a client but then decided to take the appointment online.

For days, Kamran’s body remained under the rubble, leaving the family feeling helpless. “You want to say goodbye properly. You want the body,” he said. With the help of others, including the suspect, Afran pulled his brother out of the rubble.

Afran said he was in shock when O. was arrested. “Now that you see the consequences, you see how serious it can get,” he said. “Because of what he did, my brother died. Now I am truly alone. My brother is no longer there. I can no longer call someone every day, I cannot ask advice, I cannot bounce ideas off him, I cannot hear his voice, I cannot go to his house, and I cannot play soccer together with him anymore. I shared everything with him.”

O.’s business space on Schammenkamp measures around 82 square meters, and he also controlled several apartments above the garage, where he has allegedly housed illegal construction workers. The employees, including his nephew Ilyaas from Spain, were kept in grimy bank beds, AD reported.