This is an English translation. The original Dutch article is authoritative.
Douane has published the figures for the first half of 2026. These show that between January and June, 7,894 kilos of cannabis were intercepted. This is 62 per cent less than in the same period of 2025, when 20,923 kilos were found. At the same time, the amount of intercepted cocaine increased by twenty per cent.
However, various developments lie behind the total figure. Of the intercepted cannabis, 7,473 kilos consisted of marijuana and 421 kilos of hashish. While the amount of intercepted marijuana decreased sharply, the amount of intercepted hashish tripled compared to the same period last year. Thus, the total figure only shows part of the story.
From 20,923 to 7,894 kilos of cannabis
The decline is substantial. In the first six months of 2025, Douane intercepted 20,923 kilos of cannabis. In the same period of 2026, it was 7,894 kilos. This means over 13 tonnes less cannabis was found.
However, this comparison does not stand alone. The year 2025 was an exceptional year. Over the full year, Douane intercepted more than four times as much cannabis as in 2024. The current decline therefore follows a historically high level. A sharp decrease compared to a record year does not, therefore, automatically mean a structural change is taking place.
Douane itself is also cautious about this. In the explanation accompanying the half-year figures, it writes that it is still too early to speak of a trend. The figures provide a snapshot of what was intercepted in the first six months of 2026, but in themselves say little about long-term developments.
More cannabis via air
It is striking that the national decline does not mean less cannabis is being intercepted everywhere. Douane notes a shift in supply routes.
Through airports, a total of 2,059 kilos of cannabis was intercepted in the first half of 2026. In the same period of 2025, this was 1,127 kilos. This is an increase of over eighty per cent. At the same time, the amount of intercepted cannabis in the Port of Rotterdam decreased.
According to Douane, this development aligns with international signals that cannabis is increasingly transported by air and less by sea. Thus, the national total shows not only a decline, but also a clear shift in the way cannabis is transported internationally.
The drug dashboard provides more insight
New is the Douane drug dashboard. This makes the figures available not only as a national total, but also broken down by Douane location, type of drug, number of interceptions, and quantity in kilos.
It is precisely this depth that makes the figures interesting. After all, not every interception represents the same scale. One large batch can strongly influence the national total, while dozens of smaller interceptions collectively represent a much more limited weight. By publishing both the number of seizures and the total weight, a more complete picture of developments emerges.
It is also visible that developments differ per location. Where the amount of intercepted cannabis in Rotterdam is decreasing, other locations show an increase. This makes it clear that different regional developments can be hidden behind a single national percentage.
Interceptions are not market figures
Douane publishes how much cannabis it has intercepted. This is not the same as the size of the international cannabis market.
Interception figures are influenced by many different factors, such as international cooperation, available capacity, risk selections, changing trade flows, and the discovery of a few very large batches. This means that an increase or decrease in the intercepted amount does not automatically equate to an equally large change in the total market.
This is precisely why it is wise to be cautious with far-reaching conclusions. The figures show what Douane has encountered, but not how much cannabis is actually being transported or what the final destination of those batches is.
Changing smuggling methods
Douane describes that international drug trafficking is constantly changing. In addition to regular container flows, it sees so-called rip-offs, where drugs are placed in containers without changing the cargo itself, and drop-offs, where packages are left from ships at sea to be picked up later.
In addition, narcotics are hidden in regular commercial goods and Douane sees that transport flows continue to move. This partly explains why the figures can differ significantly per location and per year.
All cannabis data at a glance
First half of 2026 compared to first half of 2025
| Cannabis type | First half 2025 | First half 2026 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marijuana | 20,779 kg | 7,473 kg | −64% |
| Hashish | 144 kg | 421 kg | +192% |
| Total cannabis | 20,923 kg | 7,894 kg | −62% |
The national decline is therefore entirely due to marijuana. The amount of intercepted hashish actually increased nearly three-fold.
Number of cannabis seizures
| Cannabis type | First half 2025 | First half 2026 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marijuana | 1,605 seizures | 1,949 seizures | +21% |
| Hashish | 230 seizures | 368 seizures | +60% |
| Total cannabis | 1,835 seizures | 2,317 seizures | +26% |
This is an important piece of data. Although the total weight fell by 62 per cent, the number of cannabis seizures increased by 26 per cent. Thus, more individual batches were intercepted, but on average those batches were significantly smaller. In the first half of 2025, a cannabis seizure averaged approximately 11.4 kilos. In the first half of 2026, this was about 3.4 kilos.
Cannabis per Douane location — first half of 2026
| Location | Marijuana | Hashish | Total | Seizures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port of Rotterdam | 2,764 kg | 0 kg | 2,764 kg | 9 |
| Port of Vlissingen/Moerdijk | 127 kg | 0 kg | 127 kg | 18 |
| Port of Amsterdam | 0 kg | 0 kg | 0 kg | 0 |
| Schiphol Airport | 2,398 kg | 227 kg | 2,625 kg | 636 |
| Post and couriers | 2,184 kg | 194 kg | 2,378 kg | 1,654 |
| Other | 0 kg | 0 kg | 0 kg | 0 |
| Total | 7,473 kg | 421 kg | 7,894 kg | 2,317 |
Cannabis per Douane location — first half of 2025
| Location | Marijuana | Hashish | Total | Seizures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port of Rotterdam | 18,806 kg | 0 kg | 18,806 kg | 6 |
| Port of Vlissingen/Moerdijk | 78 kg | 0 kg | 78 kg | 1 |
| Port of Amsterdam | 0 kg | 0 kg | 0 kg | 0 |
| Schiphol Airport | 1,869 kg | 143 kg | 2,012 kg | 454 |
| Post and couriers | 26 kg | 1 kg | 27 kg | 1,374 |
| Other | 0 kg | 0 kg | 0 kg | 0 |
| Total | 20,779 kg | 144 kg | 20,923 kg | 1,835 |
Notable shifts per location
In Rotterdam, the amount of intercepted marijuana fell from 18,806 to 2,764 kilos. That is a decrease of approximately 85 per cent. This decline explains almost the entire difference between the two half-years.
In Vlissingen/Moerdijk, the amount of intercepted marijuana rose from 78 to 127 kilos. That is an increase of approximately 63 per cent.
At Schiphol, the amount of marijuana rose from 1,869 to 2,398 kilos. The amount of hashish there increased from 143 to 227 kilos. According to the downloaded dashboard data, the total at Schiphol thus amounted to 2,625 kilos of cannabis.
In post and courier shipments, the most striking shift occurred. The amount of marijuana rose from 26 to 2,184 kilos. The amount of hashish rose from 1 to 194 kilos. The number of seizures there also increased from 1,374 to 1,654.
The figures thus point not only to less weight, but primarily to a different distribution. In 2025, the national total was strongly determined by a few very large batches in Rotterdam. In 2026, intercepted cannabis is much more evenly distributed between Rotterdam, Schiphol, and post and courier shipments.
Cannabis development since 2022
| Year | Marijuana | Hashish | Total cannabis | Seizures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5,489 kg | 293 kg | 5,782 kg | 5,541 |
| 2023 | 3,832 kg | 253 kg | 4,085 kg | 3,855 |
| 2024 | 14,492 kg | 255 kg | 14,747 kg | 8,107 |
| 2025 | 65,532 kg | 605 kg | 66,137 kg | 7,083 |
| First half 2026 | 7,473 kg | 421 kg | 7,894 kg | 2,317 |
The total increased from 2023 to 2024 by approximately 261 per cent. From 2024 to 2025, another increase of approximately 349 per cent followed. The record of 2025 was almost entirely caused by marijuana. Hashish accounted for only 605 kilos of the total 66,137 kilos of cannabis.
Furthermore, it is striking that in the first half of 2026, 421 kilos of hashish have already been intercepted. This is more than in any full year from 2022 to 2024 and already nearly 70 per cent of the total hashish weight in the whole of 2025.
Other important figures from the publication
Douane intercepted 19,332 kilos of cocaine in the first half of 2026. In the same period of 2025, this was 16,104 kilos. This is an increase of 20 per cent.
The number of passengers found with cocaine at Schiphol fell from 103 in the first half of 2025 to 22 in the first half of 2026.
Regarding drug precursors, this involved 4,505 kilos spread over 16 shipments. In the first half of 2025, this was 4,623 kilos spread over 17 shipments.
In addition, Douane intercepted over 106 million illegal cigarettes in the first half of 2026. Approximately 80 per cent of these arrived via sea containers.
Important note on the air figures
In the news report, Douane mentions 2,059 kilos of cannabis in the air stream in the first half of 2026, compared to 1,127 kilos in 2025. However, the downloadable dashboard data states 2,625 kilos for Schiphol in 2026 and 2,012 kilos in 2025.
These figures therefore do not match. It is possible the news report uses a more limited definition of the air stream than the dashboard, for example only certain inbound or outbound flows. Douane does not explain this difference.
What do these figures say about cannabis?
The new figures show that cannabis is still transported internationally in large quantities. At the same time, they show that the composition of interceptions is changing. The sharp decline in marijuana contrasts with a tripling of the intercepted amount of hashish. Transport flows are also shifting increasingly towards aviation.
However, the figures do not show how large the international cannabis market actually is or for which countries the intercepted batches were intended. After all, the Netherlands is not only a consumer market, but also an important logistical hub within Europe. Interception figures can therefore not be simply translated to the Dutch coffeeshop market or the scale of domestic demand.
A valuable deepening
The new Douane figures are particularly interesting because, in combination with the drug dashboard, they provide more insight than before. Not only is the total amount of cannabis visible, but also the differences between marijuana and hashish, the development per Douane location, and the shifts between sea and air transport.
This creates a more nuanced picture of international cannabis flows. The substantial decline compared to an exceptional record year is an important observation, but the underlying figures show that the reality is more complex than a single national percentage suggests.