Inside the Largest Ketamine Seizure Ever in the Netherlands: Risks, Addiction, and the Black Market

NOS

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 18:47

According to the police, it is the largest ketamine seizure ever in the Netherlands. At the beginning of this month, officers found 2,000 kilos of the drugs in a shed in Muiderberg, with a street value of 55 million euros. Four questions about ‘keta’, which is originally a pain-relieving medicine, but has become popular as a party drug in recent years.

What does ketamine do and what are the risks?

After ingesting a low amount, the user may enter a dreamy, relaxed state, where sounds are more intense or distorted. With a higher intake it can feel like you are leaving your body. After an overdose, a person can end up in a “k-hole.” Users may have difficulty speaking or moving; some have a near-death experience.

According to the Trimbos Institute, which conducts research into drug use, keta use can also cause permanent complaints, such as memory loss, severe abdominal pain (“k-cramps”) and bladder problems. “There are stories of people who have to urinate every ten minutes or have pain when urinating,” says Margriet van Laar of the research institute.

She emphasizes that ketamine can be addictive and that its use can lead to a vicious circle, because ketamine is also used as a painkiller. “People who have used Keta may develop bladder problems and then use Keta again to suppress the pain.”

The Jeroen Bosch Hospital in Den Bosch has had a special ketamine clinic since 2022. Patients are treated there and an attempt is made to break that vicious circle.

Ketamine is legally in a gray area. Despite the fact that it is used as a party drug, it is not on the lists of prohibited hard and soft drugs, because it is also used as a medicine. There are strict conditions attached. For example, the drug may not be traded unregistered and possession of large quantities is prohibited.

NOS op 3 previously delved into the world behind ketamine:

Is the use of ketamine increasing?

In the past, a small group of people looking for intense psychedelic effects used ketamine as a drug. Nowadays, young people in particular use it at home, at festivals or (house) parties.

According to the latest figures from the Trimbos Institute, from 2022, 1 in 40 adults has ever used ketamine. That amounts to approximately 360,000 Dutch people. Use rose sharply between 2016 and 2020, but the increase stabilized in 2022.

What is also striking is that highly educated young men use keta relatively most often. Approximately 1 in 10 college or university students has a keta experience, according to the latest Trimbos figures.

According to Van Laar, ketamine has “become more mainstream” among drug users. “In general, there is more interest in this type of psychedelic drug. In addition, it is cheap, easy to obtain and easy to use.”

She emphasizes that the use of keta among the entire Dutch population is still very small. For example, in 2022, less than 1 percent of adults had used ketamine in the last year, a lot less than, for example, weed or ecstasy.

How special is the find in Muiderberg?

Ketamine finds are more common, but can be “counted on one hand”, says police spokesman Robbert Salome. “It pales in comparison to what we find in cocaine or ecstasy, for example.”

This is partly because the police are not specifically looking for it. The discovery in Muiderberg followed an anonymous tip. “Then we will of course take a look. But in principle our focus is more on synthetic drugs, such as MDMA.”

At the beginning of last year, the police found a large quantity of ketamine in a farm near Steenbergen in Brabant. About 1,700 kilos of ketamine were seized there.

This was preceded by an extensive police investigation. Agents monitored the chat traffic of criminals for months. On February 3, there was a major international police action in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. In addition to the ketamine, the police also found cash and weapons in various places.

Is trade increasing?

Because ketamine is in a legal gray area, it is difficult for the police to assess whether the illegal trade is increasing. “If we find ketamine somewhere, it could also be for medical purposes. If people have a permit for it, it is not illegal,” says Salome. According to the police, monitoring this is more a matter for the Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate.

Largest drug discovery ever in the Netherlands: 55 million worth of ketamine

The record discovery this month in the Gooi clearly involved an illegal batch. “There was no permit for this,” said the police spokesperson. “The best news is that this cargo is now off the market.” The ketamine was found at the beginning of this month and was subsequently removed and destroyed.

2024-01-19 17:47:42


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