Police launch new approach to secret labs, this is how you recognize a real Breaking Bad

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Police are calling on the community to turn in the drug dealer next door as the number of secret labs increases, larger and more complex, with higher production capacities and more dangerous than ever before.

The warning comes ahead of the Clandestine Laboratory Investigators conference being held over four days in Sydney this week, with law enforcement officials from all Australian states and territories – as well as the US, Singapore and New Zealand – sharing their latest technology and intervention methods.

Australian health authorities have also provided rare insight into the accuracy of wastewater testing for the presence of illicit drugs.

The technology has now advanced to the point where wastewater testing can determine whether traces of illegal drugs have passed through a person’s system, or have simply been dumped into the sewer as raw product, perhaps to evade detection before drugs are found.

As part of a special preview of this week’s event – ​​only the third of its kind to be held in Australia – EFTM gained access to the NSW Police unit that specializes in investigating and shutting down secret laboratories that are popping up across the state.

The main findings make for bleak reading:

  • The number of clandestine laboratories has increased sharply since the end of COVID lockdowns as the street price of illicit drugs in Australia continues to reach record highs;
  • Criminal gangs use rental properties, Air BNBs, granny flats, apartments, farm sheds and vacant shops to set up makeshift drug labs and produce drugs before moving on to the next location;
  • Some secret drug labs use modified beer kegs and plastic buckets – instead of scientific glassware – to mix powerful chemicals;
  • There is now an emerging industry of cleaning crews hired by real estate agents to disinfect former rental properties that have been used as drug labs;
  • The production and size of each drug lab is growing larger and more dangerous, posing a greater risk to unwitting neighbors and also endangering emergency responders called to battle the series of fires and explosions;
  • There has been a rise in the number of what police call “tinkerers” (individuals rather than criminal gangs) experimenting with their own DIY drug production using instructions obtained illegally from the dark web;
  • An increase in criminal gangs exploiting foreign students or new Australian citizens from non-English speaking backgrounds, exposing them to serious health risks while working in secret laboratories and/or risking a heavy prison sentence if caught;
  • A new warning about pill testing that shows some pills are more potent than others, even if they come from the same batch.

Since COVID lockdowns ended across Australia, police say they have noticed a sharp increase in the number of secret labs – with larger and more complex homemade systems producing greater outputs than before.

In a recent drug bust, police discovered criminals dumping chemical waste by emptying toxic fluids onto the fence of a suburban home, with the unintended consequence of destroying the lawns of surrounding properties.

In another drug bust, a dead pet was found near a backyard puddle filled with chemical waste.

A number of police officers have suffered lifelong eye damage – in some cases even blindness – because the chemical fumes in the secret laboratory were so toxic.

In some cases, the chemicals and powders on the floors of the makeshift labs are so toxic that aid workers’ shoes start falling apart just days after raiding a drug lab.

That’s why police, firefighters and rescue services always assume the worst will happen when they break down the doors of a secret laboratory.

Police and firefighters use sensitive equipment to measure air quality and check whether it is safe to enter the secret laboratory.

And once inside, portable high-tech devices can scan up to 20,000 different molecules to detect compounds such as cutting agents, precursors, drug types or ingredients in drugs.

In an exclusive interview with EFTMWarren Lysaght, Detective Inspector of Chemical Operations at NSW Police, said while police have numerous detection methods at their disposal, information from neighbours and the community is still of “high value” in the fight against secret drug laboratories.

“People in the community are the best eyes and ears. They know their neighborhood.”

What should mothers and fathers look out for if they suspect there is a secret laboratory next door?

“The biggest clues are unusual chemical odors coming from a property and unusual activity.

“Do people come and go at strange times, and isn’t it a typical family that has moved in next door to us?

“Are the windows covered so that people can’t see inside? Are there extractor fans installed in the home in places where you wouldn’t normally expect to find extractor fans?”

Mr Lysaght said anyone who notices any suspicious activity is advised to contact Crime Stoppers (1800 333 000).

“It is completely anonymous and the information is sent to the investigators in the relevant area.

“That tip from a neighbour could be the missing piece of the puzzle, so we always encourage people to get in touch with us so we can do some routine checks. It could be nothing, or it could be a very dangerous homemade drug lab.

“Sometimes neighbors will come out after we bust a drug house and say, ‘We thought something was fishy,’ but they still didn’t report it. That’s why we always encourage neighbors to report suspicious activity.

“Any home can be a clandestine laboratory. It could be a brand new house on a new estate with few neighbours, it could be an old house in an established suburb, a flat next door, a granny flat, a barn or even a vacant shop on a busy road, which can help to mask chemical odours.

“We encourage homeowners not to accept cash as a form of payment for rent or lease, as that is another sign that organised crime could be involved. They obviously don’t want to leave a financial trail and deal in cash in the rest of their illegal business.”

On the issue of pill testing at festivals, Mr Lysaght said it was a complex subject and there was no silver bullet.

“One of the complexities of pill testing at large festivals and other events is that the contents of one pill is not necessarily indicative of the danger level of another pill from the same package.

“There is no science behind it. Illegal drugs are not made to any standards, they are made by criminal gangs whose sole purpose is to maximize profit.

“So different pills – even from the same batch – can have different strengths because the amount of the illegal substance varies greatly during the production process.

“One pill may contain a small amount of an illegal substance, while another pill from the same supplier – even from the same package – may contain a lethal amount of the drug.

“Authorities can test one pill, but that is no guarantee that another pill from the same package will have the same concentration (of the illegal substance). The other pills could have a lethal dose.

“It could have a clump of some drug in it. It could have a synthetic opioid that has been added to it and unfortunately we have seen that.”

What should parents do or say if they want to discourage their children from experimenting with illegal drugs?

“It’s one thing when authorities and parents tell children ‘no to drugs’, but young people think they are invincible and that nothing bad will ever happen to them.

“It’s a very difficult subject to tackle. In my experience, just saying ‘don’t do it’ isn’t enough to deter people.

“People who experiment with drugs just need to be aware that if they take the chance, they are risking their own life – or the life of anyone they share the drug with.

“More than 75,000 people in the U.S. died last year from accidental overdoses. They weren’t all drug addicts. They were people from good families. They were people without criminal records.

“The level of life-and-death danger associated with many drugs today is frightening.

“People say drugs are bad. In other words, drugs are harmful and they kill people.”

Police have also noted an increase in the exploitation of people from non-English speaking backgrounds, who are attracted by the promise of quick money but are often unaware of the serious health and legal risks that come with being a low-paid worker in illegal drug labs.

“Organised crime is about exploiting people and they are constantly looking for vulnerable people in the community. And new Australian citizens can be a real asset to criminal enterprises,” Mr Lysaght said.

“They may be here on a student visa, or they may be a new citizen from a non-English speaking background, and they may be more easily enticed by criminal gangs to make a quick buck.

“But what many of these people may not realize is that if they are offered, say, $1,000 to work as a low-level employee in a secret lab or to help deliver the drugs or precursors, they are putting their health at risk and could also face a long prison sentence if they are caught.

“People of all backgrounds who may be approached by criminals with offers of quick money need to say to themselves, ‘if it’s too good to be true, it probably is’.

“You may not be a central figure in the illegal enterprise, but if you are involved, you could face a hefty prison sentence.

“And the criminals don’t care: they’ll just find someone else to take your place tomorrow if you get arrested by the police, or get injured by a chemical burn, just because you helped in the lab.”

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