Police in Limburg have been told by judges to stop scanning car number plates in an effort to solve drugs crimes, the Telegraaf reports on Thursday.

Police have been scanning car number plates and cross referencing them against their own files to look for known drugs criminals, the Telegraaf says. If a number plate links to someone with drugs convictions, the car will be stopped and inspected.
The court ruled the campaign unlawful, saying routine traffic controls are only to be used to make sure motoring laws are being kept, not to solve drugs related crime.

In January, the privacy watchdog CPB said several police forces are breaking privacy laws by keeping lists of car number plates using certain roads for longer than permitted.