The Dutch police, after a tip-off, discovered two tons of ketamine with a total value of several tens of millions of euros, which was hidden in a shed. The police said that this is the largest drug seizure ever.
Dozens of boxes containing two tons of drugs were discovered in a shed in Muderberg, east of Amsterdam.
The police arrested a 55-year-old man, who lived in the house near which the drugs were found.
According to the laws in the Netherlands, ketamine is not illegal, but it cannot be traded or stored without registration.
Trading without registration carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison.
According to police estimates, the street value of ketamine is around 55 million euros.
“This is the largest amount of ketamine ever found in the Netherlands,” the police point out.
A certain amount of hard drugs was also found, which was destroyed.
Police say the ketamine trade is often accompanied by other forms of crime, such as money laundering and gun possession.
The Netherlands’ extensive transportation network, its lenient drug laws and penalties, and its proximity to numerous lucrative markets have made it a center for a flourishing drug trade.
Ketamine is often described as a “party drug” because of its hallucinogenic effects, and it can cause serious damage to the body and be fatal if used in this way.
Recreational use carries risks such as muscle paralysis, and memory and bladder problems.
Doctors sometimes use ketamine as an anesthetic, sedative, and pain reliever. It is also commonly used on animals, reminds the BBC.
Because ketamine is licensed for medical use as an anesthetic in some countries, it can be prescribed off-license for depression, which is the practice in private clinics in the United States and Great Britain.
