THE HAGUE, 21/10/08 - Exports of Dutch cannabis have an annual value of over 2 billion euros, the police estimate.

Police Commissioner Max Daniel, who leads the national battle against cannabis-growing, says that over 80 percent of cannabis grown in the Netherlands is destined for export. Every year, over 500 tonnes of cannabis crosses the border, worth 2 billion euros - and this is a conservative estimate, according to Daniel.

In the Netherlands, adults are allowed to buy, possess and use small quantities of cannabis. Licensed cafes, the so-called 'coffee shops', are permitted to sell the drugs. It is however illegal for them to buy cannabis, as its cultivation is forbidden.

Serious criminals are increasingly jumping into the loophole in the law. Cannabis growers are better and better organised and use more violence, including against each other. Growing locations are often equipped with booby-traps to discourage gangs specialising in stealing other gangs' crops. For example, doors are electrified and pitfall traps set under doormats, according to Daniel.

The police are also signalling an increasing involvement with the legal world in cannabis cultivation. Banks are said to provide mortgages to growers. Companies and laboratories associated with agricultural universities help growers to optimise their production process, suspects Daniel.