Demand on the rise

The Netherlands now has a record number of drug labs

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Alarming development in the Netherlands: Never before have so many drug labs been unearthed as in 2023. Experts warn that the global demand for narcotics is rising sharply.

"An important explanation for the increasing number of laboratories being dismantled is the rising global demand for drugs," said the head of the Narcotics Investigation Unit, Willem Woelders. "We have strong indications that demand is increasing. We see this, for example, in the worldwide seizures of drugs that can be linked to the Netherlands." The success of the search is also linked to increased information from the public about possible drug production sites. According to the police, these also pose a danger to the surrounding area, for example because of the threat of fires and explosions.

Compared to the previous year, the number of illegal production sites for heroin, cocaine and synthetic drugs discovered in the Netherlands has risen by 44 percent to 151, the Dutch police announced on Tuesday. Never before had so many been discovered within one year. In particular, the number of laboratories producing various synthetic drugs has risen sharply.

Significant burden on the environment
The illegal drug laboratories also lead to a considerable burden on the environment, as drug criminals dispose of chemical waste in barrels in nature. 191 such dumping sites for drug waste were discovered in 2023, 23 percent more than in the previous year. According to the police, such waste is also simply dumped in sewers or bodies of water in the countryside.

Meanwhile, the number of cannabis plantations discovered in the Netherlands fell last year. The police unearthed 1230 such plantations. In 2022, there were still 1604. The reasons for this are that criminals are increasingly turning to cocaine and synthetic drugs and cannabis is increasingly being imported into the Netherlands from abroad.