A recent study showed that drug trafficking is running rampant in Amsterdam, reports RTLNieuws. Nearly 75 million euros worth of cocaine is bought in the city annually. The investigation was conducted over six months and showed that 30% of people who go out to party in the night have used the drug.
How did they come up with this number?
The KWR research institute used sewage water samples to determine traces of cocaine found in the water. It was found that there is more than 2 kg of pure cocaine found per day in the waters (it comes up to 4 kg when it is “shredded”). With the street value being 50 euros per gram of cocaine, Amsterdam has 75 million euros worth of cocaine passing through it. Doing the math, that’s 200,000 euros a day!
According to the statement released by the municipality of Amsterdam, this money is usually invested in “houses, shops and catering establishments”.
How easy is it to get cocaine in Amsterdam and where is it made?
Pretty damn easy by the looks of it! According to RTLNieuws, it is “faster to get the drug than a pizza”.
However, they could not find laboratories established that were producing this drug. They did find “cocaine laundries” where the drug is “mixed with another substance prior to transport”. They have already found eight of these laundries at the beginning of the year, and are still on the lookout for more.
Using hand grenades for the battle of power
According to a survey conducted as part of the study, 167 coffeeshops “have a combined annual turnover of 300 million euros”. So there are power struggles happening within the underworld, with the “bosses” flighting to get a stronger foothold within the drug crime circles.
There have been multiple registered cases where coffeeshop owners were shot at. This was reported 10 times within a short span of time in 2016. However today, the weapon of choice against coffeeshops and shisha lounges is a hand grenade. The number of hand grenades found has been increasing over the years. Six were found in 2017, exponentially increasing to 18 in 2018. They have already found five this year.
What is the municipality of Amsterdam going to do about the drug problem in the city?
According to their website, the municipality is calling on all “Amsterdammers, civil servants, entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, the police, the Public Prosecution Service and the tax authorities” to work together.
Prior to the release of the report, they have already started a program called ‘De Weerbare Stad’ in April where civil servants have been trained to raise the alarm when “criminal money” is invested in real estate. Retailers in the luxury industry have also been asked to report anybody paying over 3000 euros in cash.
There are also reports of people saving up money to invest in the upcoming and almost legalized online gambling scene of the Netherlands (but you might be still better off to visit one of these offshore USA-friendly poker sites)
Moreover, they say that they have incorporated the insights gained by this report into their new ‘Amsterdam Drugs’ program and have allocated funds to see it through. They will be taking more measures to combat weapons as well.
This war on drugs is not going to see immediate results and will be a long and difficult fight. What do you make of this? Let us know in the comments below.
Feature Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay