The fight against the image of the “city of drug tourism” led to the fact that mass repressions against tourist shops began in the metropolis popular with tourists. In Amsterdam, seven tourist shops were closed at once, selling to tourists “jam after jamb” and were officially accused of illegal trade in soft drugs.
As reported by the Dutch media, seven souvenir and tobacco shops in the center of Amsterdam were closed on this charge. The sellers were caught at the scene of the crime – an investigation by the police showed that these shops had a significant amount of drug mixtures, the sale of which in Amsterdam is allowed only in special “cafeshops” subject to strict health and safety rules.
At the same time, it is emphasized that it is profitable to sell grass in the most touristic places. All the affected stores are located in the city center and are located on the main tourist routes. As the city authorities stated, “the sale, use and presence of drugs negatively affects public order” and this can lead to “insecurity for tourists and local residents due to inconvenience and involvement of the store in criminal activities.”
At the same time, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema announced plans to deploy special control groups against illegal “jams” back in December 2022. The first raid was carried out on March 23, and again the police checked ten stores and said that seven of them were found to contain soft drugs.
To give an idea of the scale, police say they found 2,540 pre-rolled bundles containing a total of 1,270 grams of cannabis. Moreover, the shops belong to the company Q&Q Tabak & Souvenirs BV, which is managed by 44-year-old Dawood Quadri, who, by the way, arrived in the Netherlands as a refugee from Afghanistan twenty years ago.