Police make largest ketamine bust in Dutch history

Police in the Netherlands have made the largest discovery of illegal ketamine ever in the country after receiving an anonymous tip. A 55-year-old man from Naarden has been arrested in connection with the shipment.

2.000 kilograms of ketamine found in a Muiderberg shed

The discovery was made at the start of January 2024, though the Dutch police have only recently made the details of the case public. The police found the huge 2.000-kilogram shipment of drugs in Muiderberg after receiving an anonymous tip about a large shipment of narcotics that was allegedly at a site on Googweg in the town. 

Surely enough, the tip panned out. Located in a shed near a home, the authorities found 2.000 kilograms of ketamine, along with “several kilos” of hard drugs. Though ketamine is not on the Netherlands’ list of prohibited hard and soft drugs, and the substance does have legitimate uses as a painkiller or anaesthetic, possessing large quantities of ketamine and supplying it without a licence comes with a punishment of up to six years. 

Seized drugs would have had a street value of 55 million euros

According to the police, the drugs which were seized have a street value of just under 55 million euros. They have now been removed from the property and destroyed. 

The bust comes just weeks after the Dutch police announced the amount of illegal cocaine they managed to block from entering the country or intercept en route through the Netherlands. The authorities made bigger seizures than ever in 2023.