What may be the largest clandestine synthetic drug laboratory ever discovered in the Netherlands was unearthed overnight Thursday to Friday in the south-east, Dutch police said.
The laboratory could manufacture more than 100 kilos of synthetic drugs daily, with a market value of one million euros per day, reported the Dutch news agency ANP, citing the national dismantling service.
"According to the national dismantling service, this is the largest and most professional production site for synthetic drugs ever discovered in the Netherlands," Dutch police said in a statement.
Encrypted messaging survey
The laboratory, installed in two hangars connected in the countryside to the south-east, was discovered thanks to information "coming from encrypted chat messages", explained the police.
A 62-year-old man of Polish nationality was arrested on the spot, said the police, who did not rule out that “multiple arrests” would follow.
Given the scale of the discovery, the dismantling of the site will last “certainly until Sunday,” police said.
An investigation has been opened.
Society
Drugs: By investigating encrypted communications, Belgian customs intercept 27 tonnes of cocaine
Society
Drugs: "The fixed fine misses its target", estimates the sociologist Marie Jauffret-Roustide
Netherlands
Drug
World
Drug traffic