Following this post – Translation of the article by Mick van Wely (Originally published here) – Sorry for any errors and thank Benjamin for the translation:
DRACHTEN – A group of criminals which sends drugs worldwide through selling online, are chased by police after a discovery by a distribution center in Drachten (NL).
The discovery was made last month. The police confirms that a big research is going on, but refuses to say anything else. “There is still running forensic research, amongst other investigations. We are awaiting results.”, says spokesman Marleen Hanenberg.
The police came across the drug deal when ketamine and weed were intercepted in the distribution centre USP in Drachten. The anesthetic ketamine is popular as party drug.
The drugs are probably produced and send by people in the northern provinces. They are making use of so called Black Markets on the internet, where people can place their orders anonymously, and sellers can offer drugs without being vulnerable for their identity.
Besides dozens kilo’s of weed and ketamine worth hundreds of thousands euro’s, the crew also sell MDMA on a big scale. The packages weren’t only meant for destinations within the Netherlands, but also abroad.
The online trade of drugs through websites as Agora and Silk Road is increasing enormously. The sites are good for millions of euro’s a week. Payments for the drugs is being done using Bitcoins. Because these sites run on the so called TOR-network, buyers and sellers remain anonymous.
Sellers are seldom caught. In August 2013, FBI arrested Maikel S. from Woerden (22) in Miami. He sold in a couple of years 104 kilo MDMA, half a million XTC pills and four kilo cocaine via the internet, and earned over 100 million euro’s with it.
Emmen
In april 2013, a group of xtc-dealers were caught in Emmen. They sold pills worldwide and hid the drugs in DVD covers with the logo of church music. The company USP acknowledged that drugs has been discovered, but won’t go further into the size of the drug catch and the methods used for checks within the company.