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The MH17 crash site Associated Press

Policeman arrested for attempting to sell items from MH17 wreckage

He was attempting to sell the items for €1,500.

DUTCH POLICE HAVE suspended an officer who tried to sell souvenirs allegedly from the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down over war-torn Ukraine last year.

An investigation has been launched and the man is under arrest for embezzlement, police said in a statement last night.

He had tried to sell “a piece of the clothing he used at the crash site” when teams were investigating the disaster involving the plane flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, the statement added.

All 298 people on board MH17, mostly Dutch citizens, were killed when the plane was hit by a Russian-made BUK missile fired from territory held by pro-Russian rebels in July last year, according to a Dutch-led inquiry.

Apart from the clothing, the man had also tried to sell on the Dutch website Marktplaats a packet of Malaysia Airlines tissues and another unknown item which allegedly came from the downed plane.

Marktplaats told Dutch television NOS that the “offensive” link had now been removed from the site.

Netherlands Ukraine Plane FILE PHOTO - Dutch military police stand next to parts of the wreckage. Associated Press Associated Press

The man had tried to sell the items for €1,500, billing them as a “wall decoration” made from a jacket and cap given to the investigators, as well as the tissues and what he said was “a piece of the hull”, NOS reported.

The police said “further research will determine” whether the items actually came from the plane.

The prosecution service has also launched an investigation. No details of the police officer’s identity were revealed.

- © AFP 2015

Read: Russian-made missile took down MH17, killing 298 says official report >

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    Mute Stephen O'Connor
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    Nov 30th 2015, 3:46 PM

    Why is there a #Denmark?

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    Mute luke frankus
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    Nov 30th 2015, 3:52 PM

    The author must think Dutch people come Denmark…lol

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Nov 30th 2015, 3:54 PM

    No idea, just checked it out on Dutch news and there’s absolutely nothing to do with Denmark in the story.

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    Mute Dave Thomas
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    Nov 30th 2015, 5:13 PM

    Perhaps some people are really bad at geography

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    Mute Eileen Charters
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    Nov 30th 2015, 4:01 PM

    What kind of a disgusting person would even want to buy stuff like that??

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Nov 30th 2015, 5:09 PM

    Police in the Netherlands are currently protesting due to what they see as poor wages for the job that they do. He probably though that he could make a few on the side from a few bits that he could scrape together at the crash site due to how much media cover it received.

    It’s completely inexcusable and suspending him was certainly the right call.

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    Mute TommyRyder
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    Nov 30th 2015, 3:34 PM

    Obviously there’s a market out there too.

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    Mute just readin
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    Nov 30th 2015, 6:01 PM

    Im sorry to say that my first thought when seeing the headline was a Ukrainian or Russian police man was involved…

    I need to sit down and have a talk with myself …

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    Mute Marc Power
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    Nov 30th 2015, 4:45 PM

    What a monster

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    Mute Hypernova
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    Nov 30th 2015, 5:07 PM

    The mind boggles why people would risk losing a very good job for something as stupid as this and so little a return.Wasnt there a guard sacked a few years back trying to catch the bank for a few hundred quid if I remember correctly.

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    Mute Andy Fleming
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    Dec 1st 2015, 12:07 AM

    Greed mostly

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