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'Rancid' drug lab dismantled in Sydney

Police have uncovered a clandestine laboratory manufacturing illegal drugs including 'ice' and MDMA in Sydney's south west and arrested four men.

Two men are in hospital under police guard following a raid on a large-scale drug lab discovered inside a home in Sydney's southwest.

Detectives on Thursday night arrested four men aged between 35 and 52 when they raided a property at Chipping Norton where ice and MDMA was allegedly cooked up in "rancid" conditions.

NSW Police say the lab was in the process of manufacturing ice when officers arrived. Various chemicals and precursors used in making MDMA were also found.

Two of the men, aged 35 and 48 were taken to Liverpool Hospital following their arrest.

The other two, Hung Nguyen, 48, and Tho Vinh Ly, 52, have been charged with manufacturing a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

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They did not apply for bail and it was formally refused at Liverpool Local Court on Friday.

The pair is next scheduled to appear on March 25.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith revealed there was enough acetone in the air to "blow the entire block up" if something had gone wrong.

"If people were to see the rancid conditions that these drugs were being prepared under, they're probably less likely to take the damn stuff," he told 2GB on Friday.

"It's significant at this time when we're in the middle of this challenge - with dance festivals and drug use - that we make such significant arrests."

Five people have died from suspected drug overdoses at music festivals in NSW since mid-September.

The deaths will be examined at a coronial inquest later this year.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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