DRUGS alleged to be cocaine and magic mushrooms were seized by police in a series of raids across the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne last week.
On Wednesday, 8 February, police raided homes and properties across Carrum Downs, Braeside, Narre Warren South, and Cranbourne. They later charged a 35-year-old Cranbourne man and a 35-year-old Carrum Downs man with traffick large commercial quantity methylamphetamine and other offences.
In a statement police say they found an “industrial sized clandestine laboratory” at Braeside, a “second large scale clandestine laboratory” in Narre Warren South, and “further laboratory equipment” in a shed at the Carrum Downs property.
Victoria Police clandestine laboratory squad detective inspector Anthony Vella said the two arrests are “an excellent outcome for community safety – these are significant seizures from what is one of the largest and most complex clandestine laboratories we have seen in Victoria.”
“Drugs are a significant driver of crime and community harm across the state and are a strong focus for Victoria Police. These arrests should serve as a sobering reminder to those engaged in the manufacture of illicit substances – you will be targeted and arrested,” he said. “Illicit drug labs pose significant health and safety risks to the community and many of the chemicals involved in drug manufacture are highly volatile, explosive or carcinogenic in nature. Residual contamination resulting from the manufacture of these illicit substances presents a serious risk to human and environmental health.”
The two charged men have been remanded. They are scheduled to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 9 June.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 15 February 2023