German police shut down large amphetamine laboratories – the country is an important source for the Danish drug market
DR-Inland in Denmark
Saturday, November 14, 2026 • 6:33 PM UTC - in Denmark
On a residential street a few hundred kilometers from the Danish-German border, German police last year found a laboratory where large quantities of amphetamine were being produced.
It was not an isolated case.
Since the beginning of 2025, German police have shut down at least ten large amphetamine laboratories, two of which were located about 150 kilometers from Denmark.
This is shown by a mapping that DR has carried out in connection with the program 'Criminal: Esbjerg on speed'.
*Criminal:* Esbjerg on speed ( https://www.dr.dk/drtv/episode/kriminelt_-esbjerg-paa-speed_626566 ) 11 NOV 2026 | 28M
Germany is an important source for the Danish amphetamine market. That is the assessment of two of the country's leading experts in drug trafficking.
- A large part of the amphetamine in Denmark comes from Germany and also via the Netherlands, and you can see that the flow comes from that direction, says Professor Henrik Vigh, who researches global crime at the University of Copenhagen.
According to the latest wastewater tests ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/kokain-i-koebenhavn-og-fentanyl-i-fredericia-hvad-tager-man-i-hvilke-byer ), amphetamine is particularly widespread in Slagelse, Copenhagen SV, Esbjerg and Køge.
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Smuggling via the Danish-German border
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The National Unit for Special Crime (NSK) assesses that smuggling of amphetamine into Denmark predominantly occurs via the land border with Germany.
This most often happens through organized criminal networks that exploit, for example, freight companies for smuggling, it states.
- Individuals are also seen smuggling amphetamine into Denmark in private vehicles, NSK reports.
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What is amphetamine?
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Amphetamine is related to cocaine and methamphetamine
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The effects of the drug are euphoria, energy, talkativeness, restlessness, increased sex drive, reduced feeling of hunger and fatigue
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The drug affects the brain, and heavy use can lead to anxiety, depression and psychosis
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Non-medical use of the drug, sale and production are illegal
Source: Sundhed.dk.
Even though German police have succeeded in stopping some of the amphetamine production, it is not certain that this has a major effect on the Danish market.
That is the assessment of Thomas Friis Søgaard, who is an associate professor at the Center for Alcohol and Drug Research at Aarhus University.
- I think you have to be quite naive if you think that police seizures have any huge effect. You may close three large amphetamine productions. But there are perhaps five that have not been discovered, he says.
Since 2025, German police have closed at least ten amphetamine laboratories. This one in Quickborn near the Danish border was one of them. (Photo: © Florian Sprenger)
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Production has moved across borders
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According to Thomas Friis Søgaard, the Netherlands was historically a hotspot for amphetamine.
But a few years ago, a shift began to be seen, where production moved over to Germany.
- The moment you move over to the German side of the border, it takes a while before it is detected on the police's radar. That is what we are seeing now, he says.
The majority of the closed amphetamine laboratories were in western Germany near Belgium and the Netherlands, which still account for a large part of production in Europe, says Thomas Friis Søgaard.
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Simple production
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Professor Henrik Vigh points out that it is relatively easy to set up smaller laboratories, and that production can therefore be difficult to stop permanently.
- It is not fantastically difficult to set up a small workshop or laboratory. You can have the various components sent to you, and then you can produce it locally, he says.
Here at home, we have also seen amphetamine being produced.
We saw this, among other things, when two men from East Jutland in 2022 were sentenced to 16 and 18 years in prison respectively for production and resale of at least 316 kilos of amphetamine.
Cases of domestic amphetamine production have also been found in Denmark. (Photo: © Florian Sprenger)
According to Henrik Vigh, it is difficult to assess how large a share of Danish amphetamine consumption is produced domestically or abroad. But he states that it is not only a national challenge to combat it.
- For a couple of years, I have tried to say that we need to lift our gaze and look beyond the country's borders when we look at drug activity and the drug market, he says.
The German customs office informs DR that the actual production of amphetamine at the now-closed laboratories did not immediately leave traces pointing to Denmark.
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