REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Wednesday, February 26, 2014

BACKYARD drug cooks were revolutionising the Gold Coast narcotics trade, cracking the formula to manufacture steroids and cashing in on a booming black market.

Police uncovered two futuristic steroid laboratories – believed to be the first in Queensland – concealed in specially designed compartments in a renovated home at Bonogin.

Officers believe the home was “designed and purpose-built” around the labs, which were hidden in a kitchen bench and the walk-in wardrobe of the master bedroom. Each lab could only be accessed by pressing a button to raise the compartments from their hiding place.

Detectives said the set-up was significant, elaborate and sophisticated – “like something out of television series Breaking Bad”.

Taskforce Maxima Detective Inspector Brendan Smith said he had never seen anything like it. “Only on television,” he said. “The way these hidey holes were created is obviously purposely designed to hide things from law enforcement,” he said.

Police began hunting the cabinet-maker who designed the compartments to see if the secret design has been used in other homes.

Insp Smith said police found 3.4 litres of steroids with an estimated street value of $105,000.

But they had “no idea” how they were made or how long the labs had been in operation.

“We will seek advice. This is the first one I know of in recent memory, which is why it is so significant,” he said. Insp Smith said the state-ofthe-art lab was a clear attempt to cash in on the steroid market.