Cops seize ‘vinegar, chilli oil’ on false meth lab suspicion in aborted raid

NT Police searched a man’s home and seized ‘chilli oil and vinegar’, in the mistaken belief they could be used to cook meth during an aborted raid on his gun safe, the National Shooting Council has claimed.

NT Police searched a man’s home and seized “chilli oil and vinegar”, in the mistaken belief they could be used to cook meth during an aborted raid on his gun safe, the National Shooting Council (NSC) has claimed.

Ron Sterry was handed a six month good behaviour bond in the Alice Springs Local Court in February, without conviction, after he was initially charged with a string of weapons offences after coming to the aid of his neighbour, who had been stabbed by another person.

Mr Sterry had taken his loaded 1917 Eddystone rifle and a bayonet for protection when he rushed to help the wounded man following the late night attack.

Judge John Birch found Mr Sterry’s actions were not disproportionate or unreasonable and ordered his guns be returned to him, while finding him guilty of carrying the bayonet in public.

The dropped/dismissed charges included carrying a loaded firearm in a public place and going armed in public.

Then, earlier this month, the NSC’s Lou Lowe said police again raided Mr Sterry’s home while he was away in Adelaide and called him when he didn’t answer the door, saying they “had paperwork for him”.

He said the police officer claimed she “knew he was in there” watching her on his CCTV cameras and was “making this really difficult”, before hanging up on him.

Mr Sterry’s employer later unlocked the house for the police who seized substances from an “off the shelf chemistry set”, purchased ahead of a chemistry degree he intends to study in Adelaide.

No evidence of any wrongdoing was uncovered and no charges were ever laid.

Ron Sterry.

“Among the several items the police seized were several quantities of unidentified liquids, one of which, according to Ron, is a vial of chilli oil – a common ingredient in Chinese and Asian foods,” Mr Lowe said.

“Among his experiments has been the extraction of caffeine from tea and coffee, acetone from vinegar … and other extractions from common household products.

“We understand they seized some of the vinegar, which, if the drug squad tried hard enough, would allow them to make nail polish remover.”

Mr Lowe said police then began drilling into Mr Sterry’s gun safe before his lawyer, Jon Bortoli, intervened and the raid came to an end.

“This is likely to become a more interesting fight because the basis for (the) raid is pretty thin and seems to cover matters that the courts have already dealt with,” he said.

“In the meantime, Ron needs our help – again. We’ve already re-engaged Jon Bortoli as his lawyer and are working hard to see if we can have this addressed through whatever means may be possible.

“We want to send a powerful message to the NT Police not to interfere with a shooter who has done nothing wrong, so have started a new fighting fund to help Ron out.”

NT Police and Mr Bortoli were contacted for comment.

Originally published as Cops seize ‘vinegar, chilli oil’ on false meth lab suspicion in aborted raid