Huge synthetic drug lab discovered in the Netherlands

A setting worthy of those of the hit series Breaking Bad.

What could be the largest clandestine synthetic drug laboratory ever discovered in the Netherlands was unearthed overnight Thursday to Friday in the south-east, Dutch police said.

The laboratory could manufacture more than 100 kilos of synthetic drugs daily, with a market value of one million euros per day, reports the Dutch news agency ANP, citing the national dismantling service. The products were hidden behind double walls and the room was professionally designed with extraction systems, reports the Dutch daily Volkskrant. "According to the national dismantling service, this is the largest and most professional production site for synthetic drugs ever discovered in the Netherlands," Dutch police said in a statement.

The laboratory, installed in two hangars connected in the countryside to the south-east, was discovered thanks to information "coming from encrypted chat messages", explained the police. About 25 officers, heavily armed, were mobilized to enter the laboratory. A 62-year-old man of Polish nationality was arrested on the spot, said the police, who did not rule out that “multiple arrests” would follow. Given the scale of the discovery, the dismantling of the site will last "certainly until Sunday," said the police. An investigation has been opened.