Drug Squad arrest man over one of Australia’s largest clandestine drug labs

[apothecary]

http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_media?sq...pYUlEPTc5MTI%3D

Drug Squad detectives have made the first arrest in relation to the discovery of one of Australia’s largest clandestine MDMA drug labs.

The lab was uncovered on the afternoon of Wednesday 9 November last year after firefighters responded to a report of smoke coming from a unit in the factory complex in Wellington Road, Riverstone.

Forensic experts and Drug Squad detectives will allege they located a sophisticated MDMA lab, believed to be one of the largest ever found in Australia.

Inside the premises detectives will allege they located more than 400L of reaction mixture containing the drug MDMA that could have gone on to produce $20 million of street-level prohibited drug.

Detectives also allegedly located 6.5kg of MDMA powder, worth an estimated potential street value of $5.2 million, which was sitting near three tablet presses.

As a result of ongoing inquiries by Drug Squad detectives attached to Strike Force Elfin, a man was arrested when he attended City Central Police Station about 12pm yesterday.

The 41-year-old man was questioned and subsequently charged with manufacture large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

The Ultimo man was refused bail to appear in Central Local Court later today.

Drug Squad detectives are continuing their inquiries.

[spice]

Holy bejesus, 6.5kg

[transDiMenTional]

bummer

[AndyAmine.]

Holly Bejesus a 400ltr RXN mixture! there is some serious equipment and feedstock involved for such a large batch!

Man I would love to see some pictures! :drool:

[PD.]

haha, it sort of puts a dint in the old argument that there is no large amounts of MD produced in AU and that pretty much all of it is imported.

thanks Apoth.

[teonanacatl]

Man that would be a crazy setup

[apothecary]

I routinely browse the various state police websites for drug busts and stuff.

Directly below this one was about a guy who got busted for a huge hydro setup in his house. 1m high plants they reported.

If people want (I've been meaning to ask this for a while), I can do a fortnightly digest of all the major drug busts in most states.

[Dodie]

Capital idea Mr. Apoth

[AndyAmine.]

Sounds like a good idea apoth.. I would read them..

[PD.]

Im with Dodie and Andy.

[jasemateau]

oh yeah apo!!!!!!!

i'm interested

[stonewolf]

Well, MDMA prices are going to skyrocket, fuck you law enforcement.

[themagicmushroom]

nah, prices for pressed pills will stay the same, quality will go down briefly, and in a few weeks you'll never know the difference.

"They say we're losing the war on drugs. you know what that means? theres a war... and the people on drugs are winning it." -Bill Hicks (i think)

[Salviador]

This could be seen as a win for the war against drugs, and it can also be seen as an indication of how the industry is growing in Australia despite crackdowns.

If the argument from intelligence suggests that drugs are being produced outside the country and a bust of this magnitude is found, what does that say about intelligence in Australia? it also indicates that even if this information was correct then the industry is growing despite crackdowns.

The question i ask is, why, despite all the efforts and "education" and wars on drugs, are the highest levels of drugs being taken at the moment? is this a legal or cultural issue?

The legal stance addresses the behaviour once its already been acted out. The disadvantages of this approach include but are not limited to, reduced enforceability, and they don't take into account the weighting of instant, assured gratification vs delayed, unlikely punishment.

Scientific processes have aided in many similar social psychological settings that deal with culture and human behaviour. You identify the causes and weightings of a process or event in nature and draw conclusions that predict how it might be influenced if certain causes and weightings are altered. This seems a more logical process to me, please offer some rebuttal or another perspective that i might not be aware of?

I can't go much further without being able to be argued with, but this is what i can see as the unquestionable truth at the present moment.

[ballzac]

MDMA prices in Australia are a lot higher than in other countries. AFAIK this is mainly because people are willing to pay a lot, not because of any extra production costs. If this is true, then prices should remain pretty static. But, I could just be full of shit.

[apothecary]

Ok I'll whip up one this weekend.

Is this ok T?

[nabraxas]

MDMA prices in Australia are a lot higher than in other countries

---drug prices in general are alot higher ---except for alcohol.

MDMA pills cost AUS$10 - 24 (4 - 10 UK pounds)

LSD tabs cost AUS$8 - 12 (3 - 5 UK pounds)

1oz ov hash in the UK costs between AUS$140 - 180 (60 - 80 UK pounds) & that's imported from wherever.

it's rediculous that MJ grown here costs $250+/oz

[stonewolf]

---drug prices in general are alot higher ---except for alcohol.

MDMA pills cost AUS$10 - 24 (4 - 10 UK pounds)

LSD tabs cost AUS$8 - 12 (3 - 5 UK pounds)

1oz ov hash in the UK costs between AUS$140 - 180 (60 - 80 UK pounds) & that's imported from wherever.

it's rediculous that MJ grown here costs $250+/oz

if this is true then myself and most people i know are paying prices similar to that of the UK...except for hash...that stuff costs alot.

[AndyAmine.]

Its also got a lot to do with the fact that Australia is an island a long way from anyone else, particularly a long way from countries like Europe where the majorty of Mdxx is made. Not to mention the increased ammounts of organized crime on the government level compared to us.

Therefore the costs and risks of importation are much higher and there are minimal outside influences on pricing structures and competition for large scale manufcature/import.

In the grand scale of things the price of MDxx has reduced substantialy and its still on its way down, hell I can remeber a friend handing over $70 for an 'opel' at a NYE 95 party in Melbourne (man what a party!). Ive heard of people paying as much as $80, this was the norm back then.

(But then again, you got twice as much in a pill so it prolly worked out even Hahaha.)

[apothecary]

there are minimal outside influences on pricing structures and competition for large scale manufcature/import.

I reckon that's the best reasoning on the issue I've ever heard.