What to do if you suspect a drug lab

The ingredients used in drug labs are highly toxic, flammable and dangerous. Drug labs explode, ignite and release harmful gases that can cause serious health problems and be life threatening.

If you suspect a drug lab, never enter the property or touch the items you see there. If you’re already inside or near a drug lab, leave immediately and contact the police.

How to identify a drug lab

Most drug labs in Queensland are small and portable. This means drug labs can be inside vehicles, including trucks, caravans, boats, trailers and cars. A drug lab can range from improvised items including a few saucepans and glass jars to an elaborate system of laboratory glassware.

There are some tell tale signs to look for if you suspect a drug lab, including:

• improvised heating and cooling mechanisms

• used materials surrounding a property, including cold and flu medicine packets, gas cylinders or butane fuel cans, stained coffee filters, pH testers or test strips

• an unusual chemical smell

• laboratory glassware

• residents never putting their rubbish out, or burning their rubbish

• little or no traffic at a property during the day, but frequent traffic late at night or at odd hours

• blackened, covered or reinforced windows

Additional signs a landlord might notice:

• a new tenant willing to pay rent months in advance, using only cash

• new rental applicants trying to avoid background checks

• a premises recently rented by residents who are rarely there

• a new tenant who is never there, while other unknown people are

Download our PDF Guide for more on how to recognise a drug lab, and what to do if you suspect one. 

Download our poster showing the key things to know about recognising and reporting drug labs.