On Sunday night, officers from the Infrastructure Service of the National Expertise and Operations Unit (LX) checked a vehicle along the A10 near Amsterdam. The back seat of the vehicle was covered with a cloth, and underneath, the police found boxes and jerrycans containing 60 liters of chemicals. The smell led the officers to suspect that it was substances for the production of synthetic drugs. The driver, a 26-year-old man from Amsterdam, was arrested on suspicion of violating the Opium Act.
Storage Boxes in Almere with Illegal Substances
Further investigation provided the police with leads on possible storage locations. On Monday evening and Tuesday, two garage boxes on Omroepweg in Almere were searched. Together with colleagues from Forensic Investigation, a large quantity of chemical substances suitable for synthetic drug production was seized. This included ethanol, absorbent material, and materials used in chemical processes.
Lab with Fungi and Chemical Processes
On Wednesday evening, a business premises in an industrial area in Ede was searched. There, the police found a lab where fungi and mushrooms were being cultivated and a second lab setup for chemical processes, presumably for the production of synthetic drugs. The National Facility for Dismantling found multiple substances listed on the Opium list that are not permitted. The lab has been dismantled, and the police are conducting further investigations.