Police in the Netherlands dismantled 65 drugs labs in the six months to July this year, compared with 40 in the same period last year, the Telegraaf said on Wednesday.

The increase, police told the paper, is partly due to information gleaned from the hacked encrypted chat service EncroChat, which has also led to hundreds of arrests around Europe.

The most spectacular bust, the paper said, is that of an lab to produce crystal meth in Montfoort. The lab was based in six containers hidden under a thick layer of clay used to shore up dykes.

In total, 18 of the labs raided this year were used to produce crystal meth, which, the paper said, is more lucrative than ecstasy and amphetamines. This is double the amount of meth labs identified in the same period last year.