Shocked reactions in the Pastor van Dunstraat in Goirle. In a major police raid two weeks ago, more than 5.2 million euros worth of drugs were found in two houses. Agents also found liters of chemicals and an amphetamine lab of industrial size. “I always knew something was wrong in this street,” says a local resident. The mayor wants to close the two houses for six months.
One house is empty two weeks after the raid, that resident (57) is still detained together with a 27-year-old man from Tilburg. Another family with three children lives in the other house.
On Wednesday morning it became clear that large amounts of drugs were found in and around the two houses:
- hundred kilograms of amphetamine,
- more than 28 kilos of crystal meth,
- more than 180,000 ecstasy pills,
- 42 kilograms of ketamine,
- 7 kilos of 3-mmc,
- more than 86,000 LSD stamps,
- almost forty liters of amphetamine oil.
“Those kids were in real danger.”
A local resident tells Omroep Brabant that she was not initially shocked by the police action. “I always knew something was wrong in this street, but I have to say that this is extreme.” She is especially sorry for the three children who live in one of the houses. “Does that mother know how dangerous this is? Those children have been in real danger.”
Another local resident calls the residents of the two drug houses ‘quiet people’ and she had never sought this behind them. “But now that I hear that there were all kinds of chemicals, I realize that we were lucky here. It could have turned out very differently.”
A woman hangs out of the window of one of the homes where the raid was. She shouts that she knows nothing about drugs and when she hears that five million euros in drugs have been found, she reacts very surprised.
As our reporter walks down the street, he is closely watched by local residents and filmed. “It’s one big conspiracy here,” says a local resident softly. She knows how to tell that more local residents are involved in the drug world. “They will come later.”
“When the houses are closed, the municipality looks at how it can help the family.”
“To ensure that criminal practices no longer take place, the mayor wants to close the houses,” the municipality said in a written response.
Mayor Mark van Stappershoef van Goirle may close the houses on the basis of Article 13b of the Opium Act. This law, also known as the Damocles Act, allows homes in which drugs are found or traded to be closed.
The municipality is not yet clear what will happen to the family with the three children: “If the houses are indeed closed, the municipality will then see what help it can offer the family.”
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