Drug dealers displace vulnerable Dutch tenants in 50 municipalities

More than 50 municipalities across the country are reportedly dealing with criminals exploiting the homes of vulnerable people for drug dealing, among other crimes. Housing associations are worried, Pointer reports.

Twenty percent out of 273 municipalities that participated in a survey are going through this. According to Pointer, a growing number of vulnerable people are living in social housing, which raises the risk of criminal exploitation. That was reportedly told to Pointer by the police, municipalities, and housing associations.

According to the investigation, criminals pressure vulnerable residents and then take over their places of residence. Pointer said that is referred to as cuckooing, referencing how cuckoos lay their eggs in another bird’s nest.

According to Leiden, cuckooing “puts people who are already vulnerable in an even more precarious position.”

Vlissingen told Pointer that “vulnerable people lose control of their home to others, after which the property is, in effect, taken over.”

In Vlaardingen, nine people have reportedly lost their homes in the past two years due to cuckooing-related issues.

The victims are often addicts. The national police called the exploitation of the group “a serious form of undermining crime.”