There was a striking increase in the use of methamphetamine, more popularly known as crystal meth, in Amsterdam last year, according to the annual study of waste water in European cities by the European Agency for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), the Telegraaf reports.
For the study, the sewage water of various European cities are tested for drug residue. The Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Utrecht are part of the study.
The police found over 13 kilograms of crystal meth and 1.2 kilograms of cocaine in an apartment on Kees Pijlstraat in Rotterdam on Wednesday. A 35-year-old man was arrested.
Officially the apartment is registered as vacant, but patrolling police officers previously noticed signs of someone living there. At the time, no one was home. When the police returned on Wednesday, they found a 35-year-old man who claimed to live in the apartment.
Dutch drug criminals are increasingly involved in making crystal meth. Over the past year, 10 crystal meth laboratories were dismantled in the Netherlands. "A few years ago, we hardly ever saw it", a police spokesperson said to NRC, calling 2018 a "turning point" in the production of meth.
The police discovered 13 kilograms of crystal meth, a firearm and silencer and ammunition while searching an apartment in Zuidwijk in Rotterdam on Thursday last week. A 52-year-old man from Colombia was arrested. The street value of the drugs is more than 2 million euros, the police said on Monday.
Officers noticed the apartment because it is registered as uninhabited, yet movement was observed inside and there were reports of people going in and out with large bags.
Two Dutch men were caught trying to smuggle 15 kilograms of raw materials for crystal meth to the Spanish island of Ibiza. They were arrested. The Spanish police released a video of the drug bust.
An criminal gang suspected of trafficking hard drugs from the Netherlands to Australia was arrested in an international police action, the Dutch Public Prosecutor announced on Tuesday. A total of 17 suspects were arrested, including two Dutch.
A 33-year-old man from Utrecht and a 47-year-old man from Huizen were arrested in the Netherlands on Tuesday. The Dutch police became involved in this case, called Operation Veyda, after the Australian police asked the Netherlands to investigate the origin of drugs trafficked to the country.
The court in Amsterdam sentenced 10 people to up to thee years in prison, up to 240 hours of community services and fines totaling in 10 thousand euros for large-scale drug trafficking and other drug related charges. The gang is best known for using crocodiles to guard their loot, Het Parool reports.
Cocaine use in the cities of Utrecht and Eindhoven increased significantly over the past year, according to the European agency for drugs and drug addiction EMCDDA based on a study on drugs in the sewage of cities, ANP reports.
In Utrecht the amount of cocaine residue found in the sewage was twice as high as last year. According to the researchers' calculations, about half a kilo of cocaine is used in the city each day. In Eindhoven that number is slightly higher.
Members of an Amsterdam drug gang that used crocodiles as "guard dogs" gave partial confessions to the police. This was revealed during a preliminary hearing in the case against nine suspects on Thursday
Police officers in Amsterdam Oost discovered two giant crocodiles protecting drug money while arresting 11 people on suspicion of drug trafficking on Tuesday. According to the police, the crocodiles were in the same area as the drug money, and in such a position that you had to pass the animals to get to the money.
Crystal meth is becoming increasingly popular in the Netherlands, especially among homosexuals. The drug is getting cheaper, and with the falling price, the use increases.
At least fifteen containers filled with chemical waste were discovered dumped in the middle of a forest in Zeewolde, Flevoland Thursday morning, including a 20-liter barrel leaking an unknown substance. Police suspect the waste could be from an illegal meth lab.
