Last weekend, several mysterious packages washed up on the coast of the Dutch North Sea. Their contents were somewhat unorthodox: they were drugs.
The North Holland police unit tells RTL Nieuws that, although weird things wash up on the coast regularly, this is their first time seeing something like this.
A spokesperson says that packages of drugs are being found across “the entire width of the coast”. 😳
And there’s another problem: the drugs are not just on the coast, but also in the sea. And sea creatures are consuming them.
Sharks on cocaine
Often, smugglers dump drugs into the sea, either as a method of smuggling or to avoid being caught by authorities. The result? Sea creatures can ingest them. And get high.
Cocaine, for example, dissolves very easily in water, so a small tear in a pack is enough to make the drugs consumable by sea creatures.
This can make the animals confused, disoriented, and aggressive — and more dangerous to people.
It’s kind of a lose-lose for everyone, and we doubt sharks have underwater Narcotics Anonymous support groups. 🦈
New methods of drug dealing
Why exactly are drugs washing up along the Dutch coast? Well, it’s all part of a new drug-dealing method.
Since it’s becoming harder to smuggle packages of drugs in sea containers, many smugglers now hide drugs under torpedoes that are bolted under boats.
READ MORE | Dutch Quirk #56: have a liberal attitude towards party drugs
Another method involves dumping packages at sea with GPS trackers. This way, boats can find the packages and get them to where they need to be.
The police urge anyone who finds a suspicious package not to open it and to call 112 immediately. (In other words: this is not the time to start a questionable side hustle. 😉)
Have you ever heard of something like this happening? Tell us in the comments!