Drugscriminaliteit beheersbaar houden: De inspanningen van 25 jaar

In international organized drug crime, the Netherlands is an important transit country (especially for cocaine and, to a lesser extent, heroin and other drugs) and an important production country (of cannabis and synthetic drugs). Drug production and trafficking have serious consequences for society. For example, in addition to possible health damage due to drug use, criminal money flows become intertwined with the regular economy. There is also an increase in new perpetrators, facilitators and bystanders who become involved in illegal activities, murders, and other violence due to conflict between criminal groups and dumping waste from drug production. Organized drug crime increasingly has a far-reaching and subversive impact on the Netherlands and its rule of law. The murders of journalist Peter R. de Vries and lawyer Derk Wiersum are painful recent examples. Despite these severe consequences, the approach to organized drug crime has long been what we can retrospectively call ‘modest’, ‘naïve’, incidental’, and ‘fragmented’.