White powder sent to municipalities triggers police response, turns out to be flour

The letters, mailed by Villa Heidebad in Epe, Gelderland, were reportedly intended as a lighthearted thank-you to local governments that have previously booked the hotel’s conference facilities. However, the enclosed white powder — actually flour — led recipients to fear a hazardous substance.

Bjarne Pechler, the hotel’s director, told RTL he regretted the incident. “It was not our intention for panic to break out,” Pechler said. He explained that the mailing was designed as a playful gesture combining a recipe for the hotel’s well-known cookies with a video and a pun linking meel (flour) to “mail contact.”