Some collect stamps, others collect… ecstasy pills. A man living in the town of Eerbeek, 90 kilometres east of Amsterdam in Holland, has reported the theft of 2,400 ecstasy pills to Dutch police after a supposed break-in to his home on Thursday.

The man had been accumulating the pills – of all colours, shapes and sizes – over the past 20 years, and it’s thought they carried a street value of about $17,800 AUD (11,000 Euros). Insisting he is neither a drug user or dealer, the man explained to daily newspaper De Volkskrant that his real passion “comes from the varied collection of colours, shapes and logos that are printed on the pills… I’ve tried it (ecstasy) before but I didn’t like it.”

Turning to the police for help may seem a little counter intuitive, but the man is worried that someone might end up dead if they swallowed one of the 40 red and white pills in the collection, as he says they’re poisonous. Although it remains unclear exactly why these pills in particular would be dangerous. Police spokeswoman Esther Naber said she believes the collector, because really, “Why would you make something like this up?”