Eleven arrested in "joint factory" bust

The police arrested 11 people in a 'joint factory' found in a commercial property in Waalwijk on Wednesday. According to the municipality, the suspects were rolling and packaging joints for coffeeshop chain The Grass Company, AD reports.

All people found inside the building were arrested. The suspects are 10 women, who were in the process of rolling joints, and a man who was supervising. The building was searched under the leadership of a prosecutor. Dozens of kilograms of drugs were seized, though the exact weight is not yet clear.

The police discovered this joint factory by accident. Police officers were assisting grid manager Enexis with a fire safety check in the area. Once inside, the officers realized what was going on in the building.

According to the Waalwijk municipality, the building involved is used by coffeeshop chain The Grass Company, which has branches in Den Bosch and Tilburg.

A cannabis plantation was also found in a similar inspection in a building on nearby Industrieweg. Three people were arrested in connection with this discovery. Whether the plantation and joint factory are connected, is still under investigation.