Michael Effertz is surprised that almost nothing is known about "dumping" in Germany. "The word is pronounced dümping and not damping," explains the chief inspector at the LKA at the start of the interview. It comes from Dutch and not English and means "pouring", "depositing" or "dumping".
The Netherlands is the world champion in the production of chemical narcotics. And the gangs that dump their hazardous waste in NRW also almost all have connections there, the 55-year-old notes.
The provinces of Limburg and Brabant in particular appear to be strongholds of drug production with their illegal laboratories. From there, it is only a stone's throw to North Rhine-Westphalia. "The pressure from colleagues to investigate and the public interest in the subject are very high in the Netherlands," states the chief inspector. "We fear that a lot more will spill over to us in the future."
The LKA man has been responsible for monitoring 42 chemicals listed in the Basic Substances Monitoring Act in Department 14, which is responsible for organized crime, for three years. He mostly deals with substances that are used in the production of synthetic drugs such as amphetamines (e.g. MDMA and ecstasy) or methamphetamines (such as crystal meth, which is booming in the Netherlands). Semi-synthetic drugs (cocaine, heroin) are generally produced outside of Europe and therefore play no role in his work.
The fact that Effertz was previously a liaison officer for his agency in the Netherlands is of great benefit. He knows the situation in the neighboring country very well and can draw on an extensive network there to gather important information. At the LKA, he works closely with Dr. Johannes Zagermann. The chemist takes samples from the dumping finds and then analyzes them in the LKA laboratory in Düsseldorf.
"According to our rule of thumb, the production of one kilo of narcotics generates 10 to 40 kilos of waste."
Dr. Johannes Zagermann, chemist at the LKA laboratory in Düsseldorf
With dirty processes, there are plenty of toxic residues. If the groups acted more professionally, significantly less would remain. "There is a blatant disproportion between the large quantity of drugs seized and the comparatively small quantity of registered chemical residues", Zagermann points out a dilemma. Investigators usually only come across dumping by chance. The discovered canisters or cartons are often wrongly classified as an environmental offense. "We need to raise awareness even more here," says Effertz. Dumping is a time bomb.
The disposed chemicals are discharged unnoticed into the groundwater, sewers, streams and rivers. Prepared small trucks allow the acids and alkalis used for production to seep away inconspicuously through a small hole during the journey. Or they are poured out in a car wash. "The damage this causes to people and nature is unimaginable," the official sums up.
The largest dumping case in NRW to date was discovered on September 26, 2018 near Eschweiler at Blausteinsee. 400 canisters with a volume of 20 to 30 liters had been left behind in the local recreation area - a total of eleven and a half tons. The LKA had to intervene at the time, as it was initially assumed that chemicals from legal industrial production had been disposed of illegally.
Michael Effertz and Johannes Zagermann urge those who come across such a find to exercise caution. Typical for dumping is a hodgepodge of containers - they are often labeled with Chinese or Polish labels or with handwritten designations in Dutch. Or the labels are deliberately made illegible. The police should be informed immediately and under no circumstances should anything be opened or touched. The contents could suddenly escape and cause serious injury and, in the worst case, loss of sight.
The faster the notification is made, the more successful the search for the perpetrators can be. Fresh tire tracks, the batch numbers of the canisters, adhering DNA - all of this is helpful in identifying the perpetrators.
When combating drug gangs, the police sometimes need a bit of luck. In Herten, a BTM factory caught fire in August 2021. As the drugs are "cooked" with propane or butane gas burners over an open flame, this happens from time to time. The sky-high column of intoxication was impossible to miss. The perpetrators have since been identified and convicted.