Police dismantle fewer synthetic drug labs in 2025, first drop in five years
Dutch police dismantled fewer clandestine drug laboratories—secret illegal facilities used to manufacture synthetic drugs—in 2025 than the year before, marking the first decline in five years, police reports.
Authorities discovered 142 such locations producing synthetic drugs, heroin, cocaine, or combinations of them last year, down from a record 167 in 2024. The number of illegal drug waste dumpings also plunged sharply to 117, nearly half the total recorded a year earlier.
However, the proportion of clandestine drug labs found in residential neighborhoods continued to rise. In 2024, 58 percent of the locations were in residential areas. Last year, police discovered nearly two-thirds of the labs in homes and apartments in populated neighborhoods.
In one incident in March 2025, authorities had to evacuate an entire residential complex in Heemstede after a severe fire broke out in an apartment. Investigators determined the blaze started during the production of methamphetamine.
Police expressed concern about the trend. “In densely populated environments, production processes are carried out in homes and apartments, which leads to dangerous situations,” said Paul Entken, the police portfolio holder for drugs.
Zuid-Holland recorded the highest number of dismantled labs, with 37, though that was down significantly from 51 in 2024. Noord-Brabant also saw a big decrease, from 38 to 24. The number of discovered labs increased in half of the provinces.
Separately, the number of dismantled illegal cannabis plantations continued to decline. Police cited low priority and limited resources as factors. Dutch customs seized 65,500 kilograms of cannabis last year—four times as much as in 2024—much of it imported from countries where cannabis production is legal, such as Canada.
Fewer labs were found in the early months of 2025. Police said the drop may be linked to stricter regulations in China that limited the availability of raw materials needed to produce drugs in the Netherlands.
At the same time, Dutch criminals are reportedly increasingly moving their operations to neighboring countries such as Belgium, Germany, and Spain. Those nations reported rising numbers of dismantled drug labs, often with Dutch involvement or direction.
The sharp decline in waste dumpings is likely because more Dutch labs now focus only on processing or finishing drugs, which generate far less chemical waste. Criminals are also reportedly storing the limited waste they produce on-site instead of dumping it.
