Fentanyl is a lethal substance. At the beginning of this month, one kg of this opioid was found in a shed in Eindhoven.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (OM), this is remarkable. “As far as we know, such a large quantity of fentanyl was never seized before in the Netherlands,” an OM spokesperson says. A 42-year-old man from Eindhoven has been arrested. This was as part of an investigation by the National Prosecutor’s Office into narcotics and money laundering.
The fentanyl was found in the suspect’s garden shed during a search on 3 February. In addition to the fentanyl, weapons, ammunition, expensive watches, and thousands of euros were also confiscated from the suspect.
Fentanyl, not cocaine
Initially, it was thought the white powder found was cocaine. However, tests done by the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) revealed it was fentanyl. “This substance is comparable to morphine in terms of its effect. But it is 80 to 100 times stronger,” the Public Prosecutor’s office says.
Ingesting a very small amount of fentanyl can be fatal. This is why it is used, under strict conditions, in hospitals as a pain medication. It works by inhalation, by ingestion, or by contact with the skin. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the agents who found the substance did not come into contact with it.
The 42-year-old Eindhoven resident has been on the Ministry of Justice’s radar since February 2018. During that time, he was known to be present at the delivery of raw materials used for the production of synthetic drugs.
In July last year, the suspect was reported to have taken goods from a warehouse in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, to the area of Zaltbommel. These were used to produce synthetic drugs.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translator: Chaitali Sengupta, who gives Inburgering classes in Meerhoven. Click here for more info.
Editor: Melinda Walraven
