Fire revealed huge drug laboratory, court told

[apothecary]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/fire-r...2623796289.html

A Sydney court has been told a factory fire in Western Sydney led police to the largest secret drug laboratory in Australia.

The committal hearing for Steven Wayne Spaliviero is under way at Sydney's Central Local Court.

Crown prosecutor Steve Higgins has told the court that DNA from the 44-year-old luxury car dealer was found on a pair of designer shoes found at the Riverstone factory.

Spaliviero is charged with knowingly taking part in the manufacture of a prohibited drug in greater than commercial quantities.

As well as the DNA evidence, it is alleged Spaliviero used a false name to buy precursor chemicals and stainless steel equipment found at the factory in the months leading up to the fire.

Mr higgins said the search of the Wellington Street factory revealed 40 kilograms of MDMA or ecstasy and precursor chemicals in the process of being manufactured into ecstasy tablets.

He says the drugs were worth $127 million.

Police were tipped off by fire crews who went to the factory after neighbours spotted smoke pouring from the building.

Defence lawyer Stephen Shirress, SC, said police had no evidence directly linking Spaliviero to the factory on the night of the fire.

Detective Senior Constable Mandy Hancock has told the court Spaliviero was arrested a year after the lab was discovered.

Police obtained mobile phone analyses linking him with a phone used to buy the precursor chemicals and samples of his DNA to compare with what they had found at the factory.

The committal hearing is expected to last up to three days.

[Amulte]

shoes incriminated him?? dang! i would have said "those shoes were stolen from me" or "i lost them" or "i donated them at a local charity bin"

sure that phone call wouldnt have helped but atleast he could argue he was nothing more than a silent investor, ease the sentence a little atleast.

shoes and one phone call.... dang! hehe and people ask me why i dont have a mobile anymore LOL

[NorthernComfort]

Gotta wonder how he was able to operate a large lab like that and only have DNA evidence found on his shoe?

Also, how did they get his DNA to make the match?

[gamma.goblin]

I assume the rest was gutted by the fire.

What Im not clear on, is what the hell exactly is "greater than a commercial quantity"? What do they think he intended to do with it, spike the local water supply?

[Torsten]

What Im not clear on, is what the hell exactly is "greater than a commercial quantity"?

There are different levels of charges. eg small quantity, indictable quantity, commercial quantity, and large commercial quantity. The quantities are different for each drug.

Commercial quantity for mdma is 125g. This will get you a max of 20 years.

Large commercial quantity is 500g and can get you max 25 to life.