BerlincTypeface:> German customs officials have uncovered a drugs laboratory near the Dutch border and seized almost 200 kilograms of synthetic drugs worth an estimated 10.4mn euros ($11.3mn).
It was the largest MDMA laboratory to be uncovered in 23 years, according to a Thursday statement by the public prosecutor’s office in the city of Aachen and the customs investigation department in Essen.
In May, customs officers raided the 500sqm laboratory in a hall in Hückelhoven in the west of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and a warehouse in Nettetal.
Almost 200kg of the stimulant MDMA, a total of around 6,500 litres of chemicals and over 130,000 euros in cash were seized, among other items.
The operation took a total of six days, partly due to the large scale of the laboratory, and also because of the many regulations that need to be observed when handling chemicals. (DPA)