On Wednesday 6 October 1999 a service of the Santo Daime church was raided by Dutch police in Amsterdam. Geraldine Fijneman, head of the Amsterdam branch of the church, and Hans Bogers, head of the The Hague branch of the church were detained for 3 days.
They are charged with leadership/membership of a criminal organisation with intent to distribute the Schedule 1 drug DMT.
The Amsterdam police raided the church after being tipped by the German police. Some weeks ago a Santo Daime service was raided in Germany. The Amsterdam police apparently followed one of the German Santo Daime members on his way to the Amsterdam church. The police waited until the ayahuasca was served before they entered the church. According to a Dutch historian this was the first time in several hundred years that authorities have entered a church and arrested people. This is a violation of one of the basic human rights, the right to freedom of religion.
Not only the Santo Daime church in Holland but also the Amsterdam based Friends of the Forest are threatened by this police action. The service of the Santo Daime church took place in a chapel that was hired by Friends of the Forest, together with the Amsterdam branch of the Santo Daime. Until the case is brought to court and resolved neither the Santo Daime nor Friends of the Forest can conduct any further services or rituals with ayahuasca.