Huge meth lab dismantled in Brabant

Just one day after reports that organised drug criminality in Brabant is reaching uncontrollable proportions, police in the province say they dismantled one of the largest meth labs ever discovered in the Netherlands.

The lab was found in Hoogerheide on Monday, after neighbors alerted the fire department of smoke and steam coming out of a building. Three men fled out of the building and climbed atop its roof when police arrived on the scene.

As officers set chase, one of them jumped off the roof and broke both ankles. The two others were helped off the roof with a cherry picker; they have been taken into custody.

A fourth man still managed to escape; he fled to Belgium, where he was arrested and locked up. Police say he was carrying fake ID papers. Dutch authorities have meanwhile requested the Belgians to extradite him back to the Netherlands. The four suspects hail from Rotterdam, Den Hoorn and The Hague.

Police say they found dozens of containers with chemical substances in the drug lab. Experts were busy all night shutting the production down; authorities would start tearing down the lab today. They said it is not clear how long this would take.

The news of the bust comes a day after news reports that organised drug crimes in Noord Brabant and Limburg are nearing uncontrollable status. These two provinces are listed as homes to the largest weed producers in the country; Brabant and Limburg also produce most synthetic drugs in the country.