Detectives in Amsterdam last week confiscated 4.7 million euros from a suspect, a record amount. The man and his brother were detained as part of an investigation into the large-scale trade in soft drugs.

They are thought to be members of a gang run by Dutch hash baron Charles Zwolsman who was arrested in June together with ten others. He is suspected of leading a criminal organisation involved in the large-scale cultivation of cannabis and in money laundering.

He is thought to have made illicit payments including millions of euros to his son's racing team in the United States. He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in 1995 for heading a criminal organisation and, in 2001, was given six years for trading in drugs.

image courtesy of ANP