Pubdate: Thu, 30 Apr 2009
Source: Der Spiegel (Germany)
Contact:  2009 Der Spiegel
Website: http://www.spiegel.de/international/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4118
Note: Translated from German to English by Der Spiegel
Photo: http://www.mapinc.org/images/CannabisCatchingChopper.jpg

CANNABIS-CATCHING CHOPPER IN THE NETHERLANDS

Dutch police unveiled the brand new "Cannachopper" on Tuesday, the
latest addition to their crime-fighting arsenal. The unmanned
mini-helicopter is fitted with diagnostic and surveillance instruments
allowing it to detect cannabis plants from the air.

The Organized Crime Task Force developed the chopper, which can stay
in the air for hours at a time. The Dutch police are hoping to make
great strides in their bid to uncover illegal cannabis plants.

The cultivation of the plant is a big business in the Netherlands,
with profits estimated to have reached over  2 billion in 2008 alone.
Only around 10 percent of the crops are sold legally in the country's
many coffee shops, according to the Dutch police. The vast majority of
it is smuggled abroad.

German police in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia greeted the Dutch
invention, saying that most of the hash and marijuana smuggled into
Germany comes from the Netherlands.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake