Dutch threatened with drug sanctions

Dutch threatened with drug sanctions
19 June 2003
AMSTERDAM — The Netherlands was branded the "Columbia of Europe" by a leading US congressman on Thursday and threatened with economic sanctions if it does not implement tough new security measures to combat the ecstasy trade.

Speaking on the Dutch current affairs television programme, Zembla, to be screened on Thursday night, Congressman Mark E. Souder, of Indiana, said the Dutch authorities had to do more to combat the smuggling of ecstasy into the US. Some 80 percent of the ecstasy used in the US comes from the Netherlands, the world's largest producer of the illegal drug.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sees the Netherlands as the "Columbia of Europe", Souder said.

Souder is a member of the House of Representatives and chairman of the House subcommittee on criminal justice, drugs policy and human resources.

He said the Dutch authorities had to introduce more rigorous searches of passengers flying from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to the US. All letters and packages posted to the States should also undergo complete examinations before being dispatched.

If the Netherlands did not take these measures voluntarily, the US might have to impose economic sanctions to compel the authorities to do so, Souder said.

The number of extradition requests in relation to ecstasy smuggling has risen drastically. So far this year the US has lodged 37 requests for the extradition of Dutch nationals.

The reason for this explosion in extradition cases, Zembla reports, is because the DEA is increasingly using civilian agents to infiltrate the drug gangs.

DEA chief Joseph D. Keefe told Zembla that 10 percent of the organisation's 9,000 agents operate outside the US, but he did not specify how many are in the Netherlands.

Recently it was reported that the US and Germany place agents inside drug gangs operating in the Netherlands without notifying the Dutch authorities. This breaches international agreements.

But Souder believes tough action has to be taken to stem the flow of ecstasy from the Netherlands to all parts of the US.

On his website, Souder writes: "According to the County Prosecuting Attorneys and County Sheriffs in northeastern Indiana, nearly 75 percent of all crime in our area is related to some combination of illegal drugs and alcohol abuse. Illegal drug use destroys families, lives and communities. It bogs down our criminal justice systems. It destabilises our energy supplies and prices."

"We have to eradicate the drugs at the source. We have to work to interdict them. We need to work to arrest and prosecute those who are dealing and using them. We need to work on prevention. We need to work on treatment."

[Copyright Expatica News 2003]