Schammenkamp: Jalal O. acquitted over explosion that killed three
Rotterdam District Court acquitted a 37-year-old tenant on 27 October in the Schammenkamp explosion case. It found no proof that he knew about activities in the rear part of the premises.
Three people died and others were injured in the explosion and fire on 29 January 2024. Business premises and flats above were destroyed. The man, identified by ANP as Jalal O., used the front section for his construction company. He said he had made the rear section available to someone else.
Technical investigators considered an acetone-air mixture the most likely source of the explosion. The court found it plausible that procaine, a substance used to dilute cocaine, had been processed there the previous day. The precise ignition remained unknown. The earlier suspicion that cocaine was being processed on site was not proved; traces of cocaine were insufficient to establish this.
The judges found no direct evidence that the tenant knew or should have known about procaine processing. Destruction prevented reconstruction of the internal layout, so his denial could not be disproved. Prosecutors had sought seven years in prison. The judgment is ECLI:NL:RBROT:2026:14746.
