Police recruit estate agents in drug war
Mark Russell
June 24, 2007
POLICE are enlisting real estate agents as spies in their battle to uncover clandestine drug laboratories in suburban homes.
Property managers, who inspect hundreds of rental houses and flats a year, have been urged to look out for tell-tale signs of amphetamine manufacturing.
These include large amounts of cold and flu tablets (these contain a key ingredient, pseudoephedrine, for making amphetamines) and the presence of laboratory equipment or chemicals.
Police have asked agents to alert them immediately if they come across strange chemical odours, sealed rooms and taped-up windows.
Acting Detective Inspector Glenn Davies, the head of Victoria's clandestine laboratories squad, said many rental properties were used for clandestine drug laboratories (known as clan labs).
Inspector Davies said police regularly met the Real Estate Institute of Victoria to discuss the issue, and urged agents to be vigilant.
"These people get a chance to inspect houses all the time on the owners' behalf, and we'd be interested if laboratory equipment and chemicals were found on a site," he said.
"People tend to get pretty sloppy when they're affected by drugs, and they do leave equipment behind."
Inspector Davies said estate agents had been warned to be careful if they did come across a clan lab because the chemicals used were toxic and highly flammable.
He said a real concern for landlords was the cost of cleaning up a property used to cook up amphetamines.
"A lot of the toxic chemicals being used are poured straight down the drain," he said. "That house will continue to remain toxic unless it's properly decontaminated."
REIV chief executive Enzo Raimondo said property management teams were happy to report to police any drug labs they came across. "It's just part of doing their job. That's what good corporate citizens should do," he said.
"A lot of the materials they use in these drug labs are unstable, and there's always the possibility of explosions or that they're booby-trapped, so as soon as they suspect something illegal, they're advised to ring the police."
For every kilogram of methylamphetamine (speed) manufactured, there is an estimated six kilograms of hazardous and toxic waste produced, which may be splashed on carpets or flushed down the toilet or drain.
The risk to police when dismantling clan labs is so high that clandestine laboratory squad members regularly undergo blood tests to measure toxicity.
The squad recently acquired a $250,000 clan lab truck equipped with decontamination and air-monitoring equipment, as well as personal protective suits and breathing apparatus for all squad members.
