PHARMACY RUM bins are nothing compared to the issues with surplus drugs being faced by authorities in the Netherlands, who are confronting a literal mountain of cocaine (pictured) seized from smugglers at the port of Antwerp.
Last year officials took almost 90 tonnes of the drug off the streets, which are being stored in warehouses awaiting incineration.
"The rapid destruction of confiscated goods is an ongoing challenge," according to a spokesperson for the Dutch customs department.
"Due to the technical limitation of the licensed incinerators and environmental standards, we have to use several incinerators," he said.
"We are urgently looking for additional incineration capacity," the spokesman added, noting that burning cocaine "releases substances that are very harmful to the filters of the incinerator".
"At most, we can process 1,000 to 1,500kg per session," the spokesperson told Gazet van Antwerpen.
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