Two men have been charged after police seized large amounts of drugs and ‘‘precursor chemicals’’ after several raids across the state, including Menai.
Organised Crime Squad detectives formed Strike Force Brinkley to investigate the activities of a Sydney-based syndicate believed to be manufacturing and supplying illicit drugs.
After arrests at Mount Druitt on August 22, police found a large clandestine laboratory at an industrial unit nearby.
Among the items seized were a kilogram of a substance believed to be MDMA, three pill press machines, more than 130 litres of precursor chemicals, three 400-litre reaction vessels, extraction fans and other equipment.
Police also seized four litres of methylamphetamine oil, 1.3 litres of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), 142 pills believed to MDMA, large quantities of powders and liquids believed to be precursor chemicals, and equipment for manufacturing illegal drugs at an industrial unit at Milperra.
At a Menai property in Parkwood Drive, police seized 143 MDMA tablets, 50 rounds of Luger pistol ammunition and steroids.
They seized cash and electronic equipment from a unit in the CBD and also used search warrants at Nabiac and Eastlakes five days later, where they found another lab and cannabis.
A Sydney man, 40, and a Hawks Nest man, 34, were charged with large commercial drug manufacturing offences.
They were refused bail.
Squad commander, Detective Superintendent Scott Cook, said the size of the reaction vessels and the quantity of equipment indicated the lab could produce large quantities of amphetamine-type substances regularly.
“By shutting this laboratory down, we are confident we have prevented hundreds of kilograms of drugs from hitting the streets,” he said.