Ten killed in drugs labs explosions so far this year, say police

Ten people have been killed and five injured in explosions and chemical leaks at drugs labs in the Netherlands and just over the border in Belgium so far this year, the Telegraaf reported on Thursday, quoting police figures.

The police are particularly worried because more labs are being set up in the middle of residential areas, and are using “amateurs” and “foreign slaves” to produce the drugs, the paper said.

In February three people were killed in an explosion at a drugs lab in Rotterdam and two weeks later, one person was injured in a “massive” blast in Herveld in Gelderland. Three Dutch nationals were killed by toxic fumes in Poderlee, just over the Belgian border and another person was killed in a lab in Herwijnen.

The police are not commenting on the other three deaths because the investigation is still ongoing, the paper said.

Conflicts between drugs gangs have also led to the surge in firebomb attacks on private homes and businesses, the paper said. There were almost 500 in the first five months of this year.

Last year the police discovered 151 locations where ecstasy, amphetamines and crystal meth were being produced, or heroin and cocaine were being processed. The east of the country is also replacing Noord Brabant as the centre of the illicit drugs trade.

“We are extremely concerned about public safety,” police spokesman Willem Woelders told the paper. “This year we are on 10 deaths and five injuries in 13 major incidents. There is a clear trend.”

Former ecstasy producer Henk told the paper that the “good cooks” are now being replaced by amateurs.

“You can give an amateur a piece of paper with instructions but if things go wrong … they can’t take action because they don’t understand the process,” he said. “The smallest mistake can lead to explosions or poisonous fumes. And the labs often use slaves from abroad. It is simply human trafficking.”