‘A miracle the men were even still alive’: Meth lab operating in a small factory in Braeside
The “cooks” behind the biggest ever meth lab uncovered in Victoria had no chemistry backgrounds and were taking huge risks, police say.
Police & Courts
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A Breaking Bad-style drug lab busted at Braeside was the biggest ever uncovered in Victoria.
Police spent more than a fortnight working day and night to pull apart the huge operation suspected to have pumped out meth for 12 months in a small factory in an industrial area off Canterbury Rd.
Detective Inspector Anthony Vella of the clandestine laboratory squad said police had seized 1500 exhibits, including glassware and chemical equipment.
Inspector Vella said the setup’s complexity meant teams worked daily back-to-back shifts for 15 full days to pull it apart and process the scene, often in high temperatures while wearing protective suits designed to prevent air flow.
Crews of forensic specialists and disaster victim identification experts were involved in the operation, which began last month when detectives moved in and made arrests.
There was more work at Narre Warren South where another big lab with suspected links to the Braeside bust was uncovered at a Cranbourne Rd property.
Inspector Vella said the “cooks” producing the meth, who usually had no chemistry backgrounds, took huge risks.
He said the criminal groups had no care for safety and were driven by greed.
“Often, they (the cooks) are just following a list of instructions,” Inspector Vella said.
“They are extremely dangerous environments. These people put themselves at risk of being harmed. These labs are very volatile.”
The Herald Sun examined the Braeside property in recent days, finding its upstairs windows had been smashed as police tried to get air into the poorly ventilated clan-lab.
A police notice posted on the front downstairs window warned passers-by that chemicals could still be present in the two-storey building.
In an upstairs office, used tanks and chemical containers were strewn about alongside a safe that had broken open.
Two 35-year-old men – from Cranbourne and Carrum Downs – charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine had returned to the property after the raid.
A human-like figure fashioned using a jacket with an arm folded and hood propped up with a pole appeared in the upstairs window apparently to give an impression someone was on the premises.
A group of men was seen removing several Holden Commodores that had remained parked outside the lab.
One local man said two men initially appeared to have repaired and sold cars out of the property before blacking out the windows and rarely lifting the adjoining roller door.
“I started noticing a funny smell, but I didn’t ask any questions,” he said.
“Some investigators told us that it was a miracle the men were even still alive because there was no ventilation inside.”
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