NIJMEGEN, 06/03/07 - Last year, 2,500 Dutch nationals were in foreign prisons. Eighty percent were arrested for drug offences, figures from research institute ITS show.

The number of Dutch in foreign prisons rises every year. Twenty years ago, there were 579. The current total is the same as the number of Americans and Britons in foreign prisons and higher than the number of French (1,800) and Germans (1,500) though those countries' populations are far larger.

Most Dutch prisoners abroad are in jail in Germany, France, Surinam, the Dominican Republic, Brazil and Morocco. ITS is researching for the justice ministry the reason for the increase and why it so often involves drug offences.