Drug Abuse

Drugs policy in the Netherlands: Investigation and prosecution of drug traffickers

5. Enforcement of the Opium Act

5.1. Investigation and prosecution of drug traffickers

Heroin

Most heroin found in the Netherlands comes from South-West Asia. In most cases Turkish criminal organisations are involved. The share of heroin smuggling accounted for by Chinese groups has declined. The drug is often smuggled in lorries. Countries in Central and Eastern Europe are playing an increasing role in the storage and distribution of heroin. Cars are increasingly often being used for smuggling from storage points in those countries. There is good cooperation between investigation services on tackling smuggling on the Balkan route, via Eastern Europe and Germany, and Greece and Italy. A Dutch liaison officer has been posted to Turkey.

Cocaine

The cocaine sold in the Netherlands comes primarily from Colombia and Venezuela. Various countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean, including the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, are involved in exports. Colombian organisations, often from Cali, control most shipments to Europe. Countries in Eastern and Central Europe also appear likely to play an important role in cocaine trafficking in the future.

Synthetic drugs

As already stated, the Netherlands has for years been an important producer of amphetamines*. 75% of amphetamines seized in Germany in the early months of 1994 came from the Netherlands. The figure was 90% for compounds such as ecstasy.

The Netherlands had to deal with the illegal dumping of waste from drug laboratories. One of the dismantled laboratories had a capacity of about half a million ecstasy tablets per day*. The number of investigations of producers of synthetic drugs has increased in recent years. One of the five special teams set up to investigate organised crime is working in particular on combating production of and trafficking in synthetic drugs.

Drugs policy in the Netherlands: Investigation results

5.2 Investigation results

The Netherlands does not lag behind other European countries as regards the seizure of drugs by customs, the police and other investigation agencies*. The table below provides a comparative overview of seizures of illegal drugs.

Comparative overview of seizures of illegal drugs*

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1994	NL	FR	GER	B	SP
Heroin (kg)	246	661	1590	137	824
Cocaine (kg)	8200	4743	767	479	3899
Cannabis (kg)	238258	58014	25694	59904	219195
Amphetamine (kg)	215	80	120	23	32
Synthetic drugs/ tablets (x1000)	143	329	30	61	314

 

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Though it is true that the efforts put into investigation and the success achieved cannot be measured purely in terms of the quantity of drugs seized, the Dutch figures do make it clear that the police and customs authorities in the Netherlands are by no means sitting back and doing nothing. The development of methods of analysis to enable the customs authorities efficiently to monitor containers arriving at seaports and passengers arriving at airports, for example, is bearing fruit. In 1994 the amount of drugs seized by the customs authorities increased by 58% in comparison with 1993 and in the first seven months of 1995 considerably more drugs were again discovered than in the same period in 1994. Consultations will be held with the authorities in the Netherlands Antilles on whether and if so, how, checks on the export of drugs on flights to Schiphol can be stepped up.

Drugs policy in the Netherlands: The role of organised crime

5. Enforcement of the Opium Act

5.3. The role of organised crime

The Netherlands

On the basis of criminal intelligence the police* estimate that there are approximately a hundred criminal organisations active in the Netherlands, about 80% of which are engaged wholly or partly in drug trafficking*. The police believe that there has been no real change in the volume of trafficking in drugs since 1993, since when 33 highly organised criminal groups have been dismantled, 27 of which were involved in drug trafficking. Overall, more than 100 people were arrested who could be regarded as key members or leaders of these organisations. However, new groups have also become active over this period.

About half of the disclosures to the Unusual Transactions Disclosures Office which are deemed to be suspicious are transactions concerned with drugs*.

Organisations whose members are primarily Dutch are primarily engaged in trafficking in soft drugs. The turnover on soft drugs sold to consumers in the Netherlands is estimated to be NLG 800 million, half of which is accounted for by cannabis grown in the Netherlands. Dutch citizens are also involved in the transit of and international trafficking in soft drugs and ecstasy. A considerable part of the latter takes place entirely outside the Netherlands.

The main activity of three-quarters of the 100 highly organised criminal groups is trafficking in hard drugs; that of almost half is trafficking in soft drugs (some groups have more than one primary activity).

Over half the organisations which principally traffic in hard drugs also traffic in soft drugs and the vast majority of criminal organisations involved in soft drugs are also involved in hard drugs. At the level of organised crime there would therefore appear to be little of the separation of markets that the authorities seek to promote at user level.

Organised crime in Europe

No overview of criminal organisations involved in drugs or any other field of crime is available within the European Union. There are still no uniform definitions or list of criteria on which such an overview could be based. At national level, there are considerable differences in the availability of relevant statistics. The Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany are in the vanguard as regards describing the phenomenon of organised crime and this can produce a distorted picture. Within the framework of judicial and administrative cooperation within the European Union, a working party is engaged in seeking an appropriate method of assessing organised crime in the Union, pending the establishment of a European system for the gathering and analysis of information. The Netherlands plays an active role in this working party.

Bearing in ming the reservations necessary on account of the above-mentioned handicaps, it can be said that organised crime has taken firm root in all countries in Europe and that drug trafficking and smuggling continues to be one of the main activities of criminal organisations active in the Union. Many of these organisations operate internationally. They do not restrict their activities to one type of crime, either, but are involved in a whole range of them, particularly smuggling illegal immigrants, prostitution, arms dealing, extortion, crimes of violence, car theft and dealing in stolen cars, forgery, EC fraud, the illegal processing or dumping of waste, corruption, fraud and money laundering, and threatening police officers and witnesses to crimes, for example*.

The various organisations sometimes cooperate, often on an international basis. As stated previously, the role that the Netherlands plays as a centre for the international transport of legal goods has created an infrastructure which can also be used for the import and transit of illegal drugs and for the preparations for such activities. Active steps will be taken to combat this abuse in the years ahead.

Combating drug trafficking in the Netherlands through the use of the criminal law

As observed above, the Dutch police, the customs authorities and the Public Prosecutions Department take vigorous action to combat the import of and trafficking in drugs. The investigating officers, customs officials and public prosecutors involved have put in a great deal of effort in recent years. A great deal of work has been done in the Netherlands on the development of the new investigative techniques involved in crime analysis and this has resulted in more systematic investigations into criminal organisations, in which data from the Unusual Transactions Disclosures Office etc. is also used. In close cooperation with the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FIOD), increasing use is being made of new statutory options for tracing and freezing assets obtained illegally and declaring them forfeit. The arrest of the leaders of about thirty highly organised criminal groups in the last two years bears witness to the fact that some success has been achieved in tackling criminal organisations.

The work of the police and judicial authorities helps to ensure that drugs remain relatively expensive for users and that people cannot deal in them openly. Like the tried and tested policy of keeping the markets for soft and hard drugs separate, this also helps to limit the number of people starting to use hard drugs for the first time. Because of the major efforts which are required to obtain enough money to buy hard drugs, this application of the criminal law probably also helps to persuade some older addicts to give up their addiction.

As in other countries, so in the Netherlands the endeavours of the criminal justice authorities to tackle drug trafficking have not resulted in a permanent fall in the supply of hard drugs. International markets continue to be able to supply drugs and the potential profits are so enormous that when dealers are arrested and criminal organisations dismantled, their places are as a rule rapidly taken by others. In this regard there is little prospect of lasting success. Here too it must be realised that national and international networks of criminal organisations are gradually acquiring an increasing amount of economic and financial power. It is estimated that the annual worldwide turnover on drugs is NLG 500 billion*. The problem of the growth of criminal organisations, involved in drug trafficking and other areas of crime, is one facing large parts of the world and has the full attention of the member states of the United Nations, as was demonstrated at the conferences of head of government and ministers in Naples in 1994.

In the years ahead the government will make an active contribution to increasing awareness of and promoting a debate on this worldwide problem, which some people believe to be the inescapable result of banning the use of drugs under the criminal law. The government does not, however, share the view which is sometimes heard that the only remedy to the drugs problem is to completely legalise all drugs and that a differentiated policy geared to managing the problem is pointless. We will continue to make every effort to combat organised crime, including drug trafficking, through the criminal law and administrative measures.

Drugs policy in the Netherlands: Bringing up to date the plan of approach to organised crime

5.4. Bringing up to date the plan of approach to organised crime

First of all, for a description of the approach to organised crime up until a few years ago, reference should be made to the policy document, "De georganiseerde criminaliteit in Nederland; dreigingsbeeld en plan van aanpak" (Organised Crime in the Netherlands; Analysis of the Threat and Plan of Approach) and to the progress reports following it, the last of which was sent to the Lower House on 16 May 1995 (organised crime progress report of 16 May 1995; parliamentary papers 1994-95 22838 no. 14). These reports show that the investigation of criminal organisations by specialised teams is beginning to be successful. A separate unit has been created at the Public Prosecutions Department to coordinate the approach of the police and the judicial authorities to organised crime; it is headed by a chief public prosecutor specially freed from other duties. The national investigation team which has previously been announced will become operational this year. It will concentrate in particular on financial investigations and on providing assistance in investigations instigated by other countries. It will therefore be primarily involved in the investigation of criminal organisations which operate internationally. This will mean that it will be possible to provide proper assistance with investigations into drug trafficking which have been started abroad.

Naturally, should there be any such need, the results and conclusions of the parliamentary enquiry will be taken into account in any further decision-making on this subject. What is already clear is that the investigation of criminal organisations will be stepped up in the years ahead. As soon as the conclusions of the parliamentary enquiry are known, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Interior will submit to the Lower House an updated plan of approach to organised crime.

As is well known, it is now much easier to carry out financial investigations. The government is encouraged by the cooperation provided by the banks, industry and relevant professions in combating the re-investment of the proceeds of crime. Partly as a result of the national and regional activities of the National Platform for the Control of Crime - a cooperative body involving industry, the professions and government, chaired by the Minister of Justice - people are significantly more alert to and able to resist creeping infiltration by criminal organisations. A number of municipal authorities are also taking measures to ensure that criminal organisations are given as little chance as possible. The up-dated plan of approach will also devote considerable attention to the use of administrative measures to combat organised crime.

Drugs policy in the Netherlands: International cooperation in combating drugs

5.5. International cooperation in combating drugs

Illegal trafficking in drugs is an international phenomenon. Not only are countries of production and countries of consumption spread all over the world; those involved in trafficking are also constantly looking for new markets. To establish and maintain transport routes requires "employees" to be organised not only in the countries of production and consumption but also in the countries which the transport routes pass through. In combating illegal trafficking between countries of production and countries of consumption the emphasis is on detecting transport routes and couriers and interrupting supplies, whereas in the countries of consumption themselves the emphasis shifts to the dismantling of the entire organisation. These activities can only be successful if national investigation agencies in all the countries affected cooperate intensively and efficiently.

There has been a need for such cooperation for some time now, as evidenced by international agreements concluded with a view to preventing and combating illegal trafficking. At international level, the legal basis for cooperation is laid down in three United Nations conventions - the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by Protocol in 1972, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Because of their global nature and the large number of states which have ratified them, these conventions provide a good basis for cooperation in criminal matters between countries of production and countries of consumption.

The three conventions are also used in cooperation between different countries of consumption but it has also been found that cooperation is more efficient if additional agreements are also reached. The Agreement implementing Article 17 of the above-mentioned United Nations Convention of 1988 was thus drawn up under the auspices of the Council of Europe; it provides for cooperation allowing the authorities of the different countries to act outside their own territorial waters against one another's vessels where drug smuggling is taking place. In the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement a separate chapter is devoted to narcotics. The Treaty on European Union also contains provisions on combating unlawful drug trafficking, and other activities have also been developed under the auspices of the EU, such as the regulations and directives on precursors and the establishment of the Europol Drugs Unit as a forerunner of Europol itself.

Where appropriate, bilateral agreements are also reached. For example, in 1989 the Kingdom of the Netherlands concluded an agreement with Venezuela on curbing the abuse of, illegal trafficking in and the illegal production of narcotics, psychotropic substances and chemical substances related to them.

If these specific instruments are added to the range of general agreements on international cooperation in criminal matters (extradition, legal assistance in criminal matters, the transfer of criminal proceedings, the transfer of sentenced persons, confiscation of the proceeds of crime) and those on administrative assistance in customs matters which apply in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries, it is clear that a considerable range of instruments is available for use in the international investigation of drugs offences and the international criminal organisations involved in such offences which operate in those countries and in the prosecution of those committing such offences. It is not therefore our primary concern to add to this range of international agreements.

However, it would be desirable to improve the efficiency of international cooperation. This can be achieved through thorough analysis of the cross-border aspects of drug trafficking and the organisations involved. It is also important that international networks should be established and maintained at police, customs and judicial level, so that in practice investigations and prosecutions can be coordinated efficiently, taking into account the law of the respective countries, and the instruments provided by the above-mentioned conventions are used to best advantage.

As a result of more intensive cooperation, the number of requests for legal assistance in investigations and prosecutions connected with drugs cases is increasing in Europe. This means that international and national procedures must be simplified. The entry into force of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement considerably simplified many procedures for the states party to it, partly because requests for assistance can now be made directly by the police and public prosecutions authorities in one country to those in another.

In the Netherlands the increase in the number of requests for assistance has led to the realisation that the police, the Public Prosecutions Department and the Ministry of Justice must improve the way they deal with such requests. Now that it is no longer a question of the occasional request but rather of a steady stream of requests it is essential that all relevant parties have structural arrangements for processing requests. Procedures have been or are in the course of being improved as far as possible, with the aid of computerisation, at the Ministry of Justice and in the Public Prosecutions Department and the police. At the same time attention is being devoted to coordination and the exchange of information. As stated previously, the police are also shortly to bring a national investigation team into operation.

On 1 July 1995 the Prevention of the Misuse of Chemical Substances Act came into force; its aim is to prevent the misuse of chemicals for the illegal production of narcotics and it contains provisions on the manufacture of and trade in precursors, though it should be said that approximately 90% of these are used perfectly legally. The Act meets the Netherlands' obligations under the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and the EU regulations and directive based on it. Persons found guilty of contravening the Act may be deprived of any financial advantage they have obtained through their offence as well as facing a custodial sentence and/or a fine.

International legislation in this field seeks to combat the illegal trade in precursors throughout the world. The Economic Surveillance Department (ECD), which already has contacts with the chemicals industry by reason of other monitoring duties, has been charged with monitoring compliance with the new Act. Together with the National Criminal Intelligence Service (CRI), the ECD is setting up a central notification office at the ECD which will collate information on flows of precursors.

In consultation with the other Member States of the European Union and under the chairmanship of the European Commission, initiatives are being taken to achieve more extensive international cooperation, with the United States, the countries of the former Soviet Union and the ASEAN countries, for example.

Drugs policy in the Netherlands: Cultivation of cannabis in the Netherlands

5.6. Cultivation of cannabis in the Netherlands

As explained in the introduction, obligations under international agreements prevent statutory provisions being adopted to regulate the supply of cannabis derivatives to coffee shops (cf. annex II). It must also be feared that such regulation would lead to lower prices and to confirmation of the image of the Netherlands as a drugs-friendly country, resulting in a further increase in drugs tourism. On account of obligations under international law, the government believes that such provisions could only be introduced if other relevant countries were to do the same.

The situation as regards the supply side of the market in cannabis products in the Netherlands has changed radically as a result of the emergence of cannabis grown in the Netherlands. This home-grown product, which is rapidly gaining in popularity, is giving rise to a new problem. The Netherlands is in danger of becoming a cannabis exporting country, exports being of the home- grown product, and everything possible must be done to prevent this happening.

The cultivation of cannabis in itself presents the Dutch authorities with considerable enforcement difficulties. Plants can be grown on a small scale, unobtrusively and indoors, which makes the practice difficult to detect systematically. The United States has also failed to reduce the cultivation of cannabis, which is there estimated to have a turnover of over US$ 18 billion per year*. It is inevitable that the police and judicial authorities in the Netherlands should have to set priorities of some kind in tackling the illegal cultivation of cannabis. Moreover, it is known that in addition to the USA, cannabis is also being grown illegally in Belgium, Germany and Eastern Europe.

In 1994 323 illegal growers were detected in the Netherlands (237 in 1993). The number of plants seized rose from 194,000 in 1993 to 558,000 in 1994. 600 kilogrammes of cannabis grown in the Netherlands was also seized. Most cases involved small-scale indoor cultivation, for personal use, retail selling and wholesale selling. Less than 10% was accounted for by outdoor cultivation, while a little over 20% comprised cultivation in greenhouses or sheds. It is estimated that there are now several tens of thousands of domestic growers.

The phenomenon of small-scale domestic cultivation of cannabis faces the authorities with a dilemma. On the one hand, there is an observable trend towards bona fide coffee shops obtaining their supplies from networks of non-criminal domestic growers. This enables the coffee shops to avoid contact with criminal organisations. In view of the objective of giving organised crime as little scope as possible, this trend is a positive one. In principle, it would be possible for approximately 35,000 domestic growers - and it is estimated that there are more such growers in the Netherlands already - each cultivating an extremely modest quantity of cannabis, involving no more than a few plants each, to meet domestic demand for cannabis*. There would then be no need for supplies to be obtained from criminal sources. On the other hand, there is a risk of some domestic growers at least being taken over by criminal organisations; indeed it has already been established that this is occasionally happening.

Clearly, enforceability is the decisive factor in the policy on investigation and prosecution as regards the cultivation of cannabis in the Netherlands. Consultations with the Procurators- General have revealed that it is extremely difficult in practice to detect small-scale domestic growers because they are almost invisible. The setting of priorities will depend in part on local circumstances and developments. The appropriate forum for decisions on such matters is the local tripartite consultative group. Policy will be supported by a range of administrative instruments. Under no circumstances will cultivation by minors be tolerated.

There are indications that Dutch cannabis growers occasionally succeed in raising the THC content of plants grown indoors, thus increasing the psychotropic effect. In 1994 the Forensic Laboratory examined 183 samples of cannabis, mostly grown indoors, to establish their THC content. The average proved to be 8%, which is the same as is generally found in cannabis from abroad. In the same year a THC content of 20% was found in a single example of Dutch cannabis. The use of cannabis with a high THC content can result in overdosing and panic attacks on the part of users. We will encourage the Forensic Laboratory to conduct systematic studies into the THC content of cannabis grown in the Netherlands. If necessary, the Public Prosecutions Department will be asked to adopt a particularly strict attitude to the cultivation and sale of cannabis with a high THC content, by taking it into account when proposing sentences, for example.

The cultivation of cannabis for export and/or as a form of organised crime should be accorded the utmost priority as far as investigation and prosecution are concerned. The Netherlands must be prevented from becoming a country which produces and exports soft drugs, especially if those drugs entail unacceptable risks on account of their high THC content. To allow such a situation to develop without attempting to intervene would be unacceptable from a health point of view and would rightly meet with considerable criticism from abroad.

In order to be better able to respond to large-scale cultivation, the Minister of Justice intends to submit proposals to increase the current statutory maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment and a fine of NLG 25,000 to four years and a category five fine.

In this context it is also necessary to adopt a standpoint on statutory provisions governing the cultivation of cannabis for legal purposes. Under the terms of the Decree of 18 October 1976 (Netherlands Bulletin of Acts, Orders and Decrees 509) governing the implementation of section 3a, subsection 1, of the Opium Act, the cultivation of cannabis as a windbreak by farmers and market gardeners or for the purpose of obtaining the seeds or fibre (for use in rope making) is not covered by the Opium Act. Such cultivation is relatively rare in the Netherlands. The land area devoted to fibre cultivation is about 1000 hectares; about 100 growers are involved. This may change in the future. There appear to be opportunities for the cultivation of cannabis for use in the paper industry, for example, and a "back to nature" movement is being imported from the United States in which clothing and other products made using hemp are popular. Grants can be obtained from the EU for the cultivation of permitted varieties of hemp under annex B of EEC Regulation no. 1164/89 (the varieties concerned have a very low THC content).

Exempting the cultivation of cannabis for the above-mentioned purposes can give rise to problems with evidence if the police take action under the Opium Act and a grower of suspected psychotropic varieties claims to be exempt under the provisions governing fibre and seed growers. In the early stages of cultivation certainly it is not always easy to tell what the nature of the plants concerned is. In recent years, growers who could claim to be exempt on these grounds have also been prosecuted under section 87 of the Seeds and Planting Materials Act, which requires that growers wishing to engage in such cultivation must be affiliated to the General Netherlands Inspection Service for Field Seeds and Seed Potatoes (NAK).

Research has been conducted to establish whether it would be sensible to introduce a permit system for the cultivation of hemp for agricultural and horticultural purposes*. There are a number of objections to this. Firstly, there would be the necessary administration, for what would be a small number of permits, and secondly there would be practical monitoring problems, since establishing whether plants in the fields accorded with the terms of the relevant permit would require highly specialised knowledge. It is not inconceivable that illegal crops could be masked by, for example, surrounding them with legal ones.

It would be better to limit exemptions under the above-mentioned Decree of 18 October 1976 to the cultivation in the open air of permitted varieties of hemp. This would make it absolutely clear that cultivation in glasshouses is always contrary to the Opium Act, irrespective of the plants involved.

In consultation with the Minister of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, we will endeavour to ensure that the Decree of 18 October 1976 is amended in such a way that it is easier to combat the large-scale cultivation of cannabis indoors and the cultivation of varieties which are not permitted.