BERGEN OP ZOOM, Netherlands — Next to the train tracks, down a winding dirt road, lie piles of black garbage bags, empty jerrycans and plastic seeding trays — enough to grow about 2,000 cannabis plants.

Forest ranger Erik de Jong spotted the dump on his daily rounds. He's not surprised. In 16 years' work in North Brabant, a Dutch province close to the Belgian border, the 36-year-old ranger has found countless such garbage sites related to the production of illicit drugs in the area.

"When I started working in this area these findings were still occasional, maybe once or twice a year. But now there are times when it's my full-time job, with sometimes up to 10 findings a week," he said.

North Brabant is Europe's biggest producer of synthetic drugs, such as ecstasy and amphetamine. In 2017, 21 active ecstasy laboratories were dismantled in the EU, up from 11 in 2016 — and all of them were in the Netherlands, according to a report released by the EU drugs agency in June.

Researchers from the Dutch police academy last year estimated that annual Dutch drugs production added up to 614 million grams of amphetamine and 972 million ecstasy pills — or an estimated street value of €18.9 billion.

The Dutch synthetic drugs industry was born in the late '60s with amphetamine and moved into ecstasy in the mid-'80s.

Most of these illicit substances are produced for export: Around 80 percent ends up elsewhere in Europe, in Southeast Asia and Australia.

“In North Brabant an ecstasy pill costs €2, in Australia that's €25 — so there’s a massive profit margin on these drugs,” said Willem-Jan Uijtdehage, spokesman for the local police.

Acid reflux

The long list of ingredients for synthetic drugs includes acetone, formic acid and hydrochloric acid, while producing just 1 kilogram results in an average 18-24 liters of waste, depending on the type of drug and process.

Local government experts estimate the annual volume of waste from illicit drug production is about 255,000 kg per year. Most of it is dumped in the countryside, resulting in 109 reported findings in 2018, up from 83 in 2017.

Over the years, the producers have found innovative ways to dispose of waste: in the car wash, in manure — resulting in traces of speed and ecstasy found in corn — or from a driving car, leaving trails up to 9 kilometers long.

In May, a police raid on a floating crystal meth laboratory in Moerdijk was literally scuppered after the 85-meter boat — containing methamphetamine oil with a street value of more than €4.5 million — suddenly began to sink. Police believe it was a remotely operated attempt to destroy evidence.

The consequences for people, animals and the landscape are serious: Waste acid wreaks havoc in the sewage system and residues can be dangerous not just via direct contact, but also via the groundwater.

The economic damage is also considerable: The removal and processing of drug waste and contaminated soil costs tens of thousands of euros. In Baarle-Nassau, a water treatment plant had to be shut down twice because of major drug discharges, and the clean up cost between €80,000 and €100,000 each time.

Dutch 'narco-state'

The Dutch synthetic drugs industry was born in the late '60s with amphetamine and moved into ecstasy in the mid-'80s, supported by technical expertise that lent a reputation for reliability and safety to the "made in Holland" brand. North Brabant is an ideal location, according to Uijtdehage of the local police, with the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Vlissingen handy for global exports and the Belgian border nearby.

"It's a very complex issue, but we must seek to regulate this type of drugs on an EU-level in a different way" — Maarten Groothuizen, MP and justice spokesman for the D66 party

But forest ranger de Jong believes there's a local characteristic among the local people that also makes North Brabant such a popular location for producing illegal drugs: "There's a mentality of looking the other way, averting your gaze when it comes to your neighbors," he said.

In the wider Dutch context, the illicit drugs trade benefits from a strong criminal network. Indeed, a 2018 report from the Dutch police union said the Netherlands "fulfils many characteristics of a narco-state" — one where public institutions are vulnerable to penetration by influence and money from drug mafias.

"Only one in nine criminal groups can be tackled with the current people and resources," the report said. "Detectives see small criminals developing into wealthy entrepreneurs who establish themselves in the hospitality industry, housing market, small businesses, travel agencies."

Crime busters

Justice Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus presented a package of new measures on July 11 to fight the drug trade, including a proposed watchlist of chemicals whose possession, transport, import and export would be subject to a maximum prison sentence of six years. He also wants to recoup the costs of destroying seized drugs from convicted criminals.

But for MP Maarten Groothuizen, justice spokesman for the center-left D66 party which belongs the four-party ruling coalition along with Grapperhaus' Christian Democrats, the proposals are mainly symbolic.

"In most cases no one is arrested, so this has a symbolic value," he said.

Groothuizen said he understands the need to tackle trade in the raw materials, but questioned whether it would really help. Producers can get round such measures by slightly altering their chemical makeup, meaning authorities then have to restart the long legal process to get the new substance listed. Alternatively, the producers can re-create the listed substance from pre-precursors, resulting in even more toxic waste.

"It's a very complex issue, but we must seek to regulate this type of drugs on an EU-level in a different way from the one we are currently seeking through criminal law," he said, hinting at the Dutch gedoogbeleid (“tolerance policy”) that's already in place for the sale of cannabis in coffee shops and for prostitution.

Back in Bergen op Zoom, de Jong knows from bitter experience how difficult it is to arrest the perpetrators — the local police don't always have the capacity to follow up on a case, and even if they do manage to catch the people dumping the waste red-handed, the drug bosses usually remain beyond their reach.

But today he might be lucky. He is standing in the middle of a farmer's field where crops have been replaced with cannabis plants. He’ll know when the criminals return to water the plants — and he’ll be waiting, with the police, to arrest them.

This article is part of POLITICO’s premium policy service: Pro Health Care. From drug pricing, EMA, vaccines, pharma and more, our specialized journalists keep you on top of the topics driving the health care policy agenda. Email pro@politico.eu for a complimentary trial.