RNW

Police in the eastern Dutch province of Drenthe used helicopters this week to track down eight illegal cannabis plantations hidden amongst fields of corn. Officers on the ground were directed to the hidden locations where they removed and destroyed more than 850 plants, with an estimated street value of around 2.5 million euros.

A police spokesman says they will continue the systematic helicopter searches until the corn-harvesting season is over.

Cannabis is planted in cornfields because it has the same colour and the same growing cycle. It is also unlikely to be discovered by the farmer, who plants in spring and does not usually return to the cornfields until autumn.

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