Ross Jeffrey Linke sentenced to 12 years behind bars after drug lab caused fire at Henley Beach Airbnb

A court has been told why a man became involved in setting up a drug lab in an Airbnb unit.

Ross Linke was jailed for 12 years for a clandestine drug lab at a holiday rental at Henley Beach that exploded in May 2019. Picture Facebook

A man involved in setting up a drug lab at a beachside holiday rental was motivated by a “significant” drug debt, a court has been told.

Ross Jeffrey Linke, 34, and another man were found unresponsive and face down in the Airbnb rental unit at Henley Beach, west of the CBD, on the afternoon of May 19, 2019.

Sentencing him to 12 years behind bars on Thursday, District Court Chief Judge Michael Evans said the men were discovered by neighbours, who saw and smelled smoke coming from the home.

“They eventually raised you,” he said.

“You gathered some of your belongings and evacuated the building.”

Linke was arrested after a fire at an Airbnb rental home at Henley Beach. Picture: Matt Turner

Linke began to walk away from the property after the fire brigade arrived, but the neighbour called him back.

He then told police he needed to retrieve something inside, but he ran to the nearby Esplanade.

As police were chasing him, Linke dropped a shoe containing a PH meter, a heavy duty fire lighter, a mobile phone, methamphetamine, cash and a plastic water bottle of GHB.

In their investigations after the fire, police found several pieces of equipment used to make drugs.

“In the bathroom of the Henley Beach unit, the police discovered a clandestine drug laboratory,” Judge Evans said.

“Part of that set-up was a small gas burner, which caused the fire.”

Police also found more than six kilograms of GHB and more than a kilo of methamphetamine in the house.

Linke was taken into custody after the incident, and 28 strips of the drug buprenorphine were found in his cell during a search last year.

Judge Evans said the father of two became involved in the scheme to help another man.

“You were under pressure to repay a significant drug debt,” he said.

“You saw this as a way you could clear your drug debt.”

In a victim impact statement, the owner of the home said the incident aggravated her asthma problem, contaminated another unit and caused a loss of bookings and difficulty with insurance.

Linke pleaded guilty to several charges, including manufacturing a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug, trafficking a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug, arson and possessing a prescription drug.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with a non-parole period of nine years, seven months and seven days.

The sentence was backdated to May 20, 2019, when he was first taken into custody.