Police have busted the biggest cocaine laboratory ever found in the Netherlands, arresting 17 men, including 13 Colombians, in the process.

On Friday special police units led a raid on the lab, located in Nijeveen in the province of Drenthe, as well as storage units in Elshout and Apeldoorn.

The location in Nijeveen, a former stable complex fitted with sleeping quarters and recreational facilities, was used for extracting cocaine from impregnated material, such as clothing. Police found tens of thousands of litres of chemicals and some 100 kilos of cocaine base.

Afgelopen vrijdag vielen we in #Nijeveen de grootste Nederlandse cocaïnewasserij ooit binnen. In de wasserij vond de hele productie plaats voor het maken van cocaïne vanuit dragermateriaal. We pakten in totaal zeventien verdachten op. https://t.co/3phX79Jbis #cocaïne @poldrenthe pic.twitter.com/CrWBH8omGg

— Landelijke Eenheid (@PolitieLE) August 11, 2020

In addition, around 120,000 kilos of material which had been impregnated with cocaine was discovered at the site in Apeldoorn.

In total, 16 men were arrested in Nijeveen, among whom the owner of the site. One man was arrested in Apeldoorn. Three of the men were Dutch nationals, one was Turkish and thirteen were Colombian. All will appear in court on August 12 and 13.

‘This is the biggest cocaine lab we have ever handled,’ police spokesman André van Rijn said. ‘Considering the number of people who worked here and the equipment, we think some 150 to 200 kilos of cocaine a day was produced here, with a street value of €4.6m to €6 million.’

Police have not ruled out making more arrests.