Neuchâtel dubbed Swiss ‘crystal meth capital’

Police in the western canton of Neuchâtel are reporting a worrying rise in use of the illicit drug crystal meth.

Published: 3 October 2016 11:32 CEST

Neuchâtel dubbed Swiss ‘crystal meth capital’

Crystal meth is cheap but dangerous. Photo: crystalmethaddiction.org

Media reports quoting cantonal police said use of the drug had shot up last year.

“We are reaching a critical point,” Oliver Guéniat, head of the criminal police told Le Matin Dimanche.

“In 1998 there were around 20 methamphetamine addicts in Neuchâtel. Today the figure is over 1,200 and the number is rising by around 100 a year.”

Crystal methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth, ice or speed, is a highly addictive white crystalline stimulant that can be smoked, snorted, injected or taken orally and that is associated with serious health conditions.

The reports said a study conducted by the University of Lausanne last year that tested wastewater from a number of Swiss cities found Neuchâtel had the highest level of consumption of crystal meth.

Researchers measured 33.4 milligrams per day per 1,000 people in the western Swiss city.

In Zurich, which came in second place, the measurement was 21.8 mg.

Neuchâtel is not known as a drugs hot spot of Switzerland. Experts believe crystal meth may have been spread through the availability of drugs from Thailand at Thai massage salons opened in the region in the 1990s.

The crystal meth market in Switzerland is reported to be still very small compared to consumption of cannabis, cocaine and heroin.

Switzerland- wide there has only been a small rise in the availability and consumption of the cheap drug, the reports said, quoting an expert report.

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A Swiss appeals court confirmed Monday the acquittal of six police officers over the death of a Nigerian man, in a case that drew comparisons to George Floyd’s killing in the United States.

As with the lower court verdict a year ago acquitting the officers of negligent homicide in the case of Mike Ben Peter, Monday’s ruling sparked immediate protests and chants of “Shame!” outside the courthouse.

Around 80 people crowded outside the court, shouting: “Black lives matter!”, “Justice for Mike”, and “Police kill, the judiciary acquits!”

The 39-year-old Nigerian died following a violent arrest after he refused a police drug search in Lausanne in western Switzerland in early 2018.

In the encounter with the six police officers, he was pinned to the ground on his stomach. He died in hospital a few hours later after suffering a heart attack.

His death initially received little attention, but the global outcry over Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020 placed a bigger spotlight on the Swiss case.

During the first trial in June last year, a court in Lausanne ruled that the six officers involved in the incident could not be found guilty of negligent homicide.

The public prosecutor’s office also decided to drop the charges, referring in particular to forensic analyses that were unable to state with certainty that Ben Peter died due to the police intervention.

After three days of hearings last week at the appeals court in Renens, near Lausanne, the three judges confirmed the lower court ruling, acquitting the officers of negligent homicide.

They also acquitted them on an additional charge of abusing their authority, brought by the lawyer of Ben Peter’s family, Simon Ntah.

As with during the first trial, the judges relied heavily on forensic expert testimony to reach their conclusion.

The experts testified that it was impossible to say for certain that Ben Peter died due to the police intervention.