US embassy cable - 05THEHAGUE3298

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 003298 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/UBI, INL 
DOJ FOR JUDI FRIEDMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, NL, BE, SP, UK, GE 
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS:  RECORD-BREAKING XTC SEIZURES IN 
NOVEMBER UNLIKELY TO STEM THE TIDE OF ILLEGAL DRUGS 
 
1.   (U) Summary.  Dutch police, in coordination with 
Belgian, German and Spanish officials, raided multiple 
illegal drug sites in November 2005, leading to the 
dismantling of the largest MDMA (ecstasy) laboratory ever 
discovered in The Netherlands and the interception of a 
significant quantity of cocaine.  Nineteen people were 
arrested in raids in the southern region of the country. 
 
2.  (U) On 29 November, a combined taskforce with elements 
from the Dutch National Crime Squad (NR), a component of the 
Royal Dutch National Police (KLDP), and the Ministry of 
Finance,s fiscal and economic investigation service 
(FIOD-ECD) seized the largest MDMA lab ever found in the 
country.  Dutch police sources reported that the lab, located 
in a farmhouse in Nederweert, was an extremely professional 
facility capable of producing millions of ecstasy tablets. 
The press has speculated that it could have produced some 20 
million pills.  At an off-site facility in Voerendaal, 
authorities found other materials, including 50,000 liters of 
various precursor chemicals which they believed were for use 
at the lab in Nederweert.  Dutch officials also seized 
several vehicles, firearms, cash, and records during the 
raids, and arrested six suspects--all residents of Limburg 
province.  Dutch authorities had previously discovered two 
chemical dumpsites associated with this lab in January 2004 
and March 2005. 
 
3.  (U) According to press reports, German and Spanish agents 
assisted NR with information that led to the interdiction of 
a shipment of 1,650 kilograms of cocaine on 9 November 2005 
at the port of Rotterdam.  The drugs had an estimated street 
value of $60 million and were hidden in two shipping 
containers in tins of asparagus and red peppers that arrived 
from Peru with final destinations in the UK and Germany. 
Some thirteen suspects--including a Spanish food wholesaler, 
a Briton believed to be responsible for the drug's 
importation, and a German--were subsequently arrested.  Most 
of the suspects were taken into custody at a warehouse in 
Zwanenburg on 12 November. 
 
4.  (U) Comment.  The seizure of the lab was the culmination 
of joint operations involving Dutch, German and Belgian law 
enforcement agencies.  It demonstrates that tri-national 
cooperation can contribute significantly towards the 
disruption of major MDMA production and distribution 
organizations.  Most of the Western European MDMA production 
traffickers operate along the Dutch, German, and Belgian 
borders. 
BLAKEMAN