The Netherlands is becoming a "narco state" plagued with drugs, sex crimes and chat scams, according to a report by Dutch police.

Police union NPB has released a report that said law enforcement officers are becoming overwhelmed and unable to deal with their responsibilities to control crime.

Lack of capacity has meant only one in five cases are attended to by detectives, according to the report. It says police are forced to focus their attention only on violent crimes such as robberies or murders.

Other cases, including long investigations, are dropped or left to drag on for an unnecessarily long time.

Image: Holland is renowned for a liberal drugs policy but says it is struggling with crime

As a result criminals are allowed to turn into large-scale entrepreneurs, making lucrative investments in housing and hospitality.


"In the last 25 years I have seen small dealers grow into large entrepreneurs with good contacts in politics and into so-called respected investors", said one detective quoted in the English-language NLTimes website.

The report also estimates that just one in nine criminal groups can be adequately pursued by police forces given the current resources. Wide-ranging scams are also neglected, and organised criminal activity has been allowed to thrive.

The report says this has led to the development of a "narco-state" with a parallel economy being allowed to thrive alongside legal trade.

The Netherlands has a policy of tolerance regarding soft drugs, and is known for its coffee shops where the authorities allow sales of small quantities of cannabis.

It is against the law, however, to possess, sell or produce hard drugs, and police pursue arrests and prosecutions based on this.

Tuesday's report called for action from the Netherlands' national police, including a demand to hire 4,000 more detectives to allow for criminal activity to be followed more closely.