Dutch dealers selling heroin as cocaine to tourists

Dutch police have warned that drug dealers in Amsterdam are selling heroin in place of cocaine to unsuspecting tourists – and that at least 10 people have become seriously ill, including a 22-year-old British man who died in hospital.

They say the heroin is being sold by illegal street dealers in two particular locations, Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein, in the centre of the city. It has emerged as a serious concern over the past weeks since the first overdoses were reported by local hospitals.

The capital’s health authority has taken the step of distributing English-language leaflets to budget hotels, nightclubs and bars, warning tourists not to buy from street dealers – and stressing the only legal sources of drugs are “coffee shops” or cannabis cafes.

Interestingly, the problem does not appear to be affecting Amsterdam’s red-light district, where many of the legitimate coffee shops are located – regulating supply of “soft” drugs to an estimated 1.5 million “drug tourists” yearly.

“As far as the police have established, the people who’ve ended up in hospital were trying to buy cocaine on the streets – but they were taken advantage of in a very calculated and dangerous way”, said a spokeswoman for Jellinek Clinics. “They were sold heroin instead, and for inexperienced users it’s very easy to take too big a dose. A cocaine overdose typically leads to heart palpitations but, in the case of heroin, respiratory problems are more common.”

The man who died last weekend was one of two British tourists with suspected overdoses taken to hospital together. One developed breathing problems, was resuscitated and is in hospital, while the second discharged himself.

He was found by police and taken to a station where he too developed respiratory problems and had to be resuscitated. He was rushed back to hospital, where he died. Police liaison officers have been trying to contact his family.

The potentially deadly practice of exchanging one drug for another is a sinister development. Undercover police are working to find the gang.