Australian police seize large Lego collection, drugs worth $2mn from Melbourne house

Australia police on Thursday (Jan 18) seized a Lego toy collection of over 70 sets belonging to an alleged drug trafficker. The man, identified as John Booth from Latrobe Valley in Melbourne, was arrested following police raids on at least five locations in Morwell, Essendon North, Brunswick and South Melbourne. Police also seized drugs worth $600,000 from the 45-year-old man’s place.

The seized Lego included Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and police station toys, each worth over $1,000. Additionally, five luxury watches, plus a handgun, an extendable baton and ammunition were also recovered from the sites. Police say the collection is suspected of being the proceeds of crime.

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Police also confiscated other illegal substances and weapons. Detectives seized 180kg of 1,4-Butanediol - similar to the party drug GHB. Additionally, some $2 million worth of chemicals were also seized that can be turned into illegal drugs.  Over 30kg of both iodine and hypophosphorous acid was recovered, which can be turned into 20kg of methylamphetamine.

A police officer later explained why 1,4-Butanediol was dangerous for consumers. Detective Acting Sergeant Brad Hobbs was quoted by 9 News as saying that “offenders import this drug as an industrial product then sell it at enormous profit but also with enormous community harm.”

"Overwhelmingly what users believe is GHB is actually 1,4-Butanediol. The drug can be unpredictable and the difference between survival and a fatal overdose can be very small. There is absolutely no safe amount to ingest,” he said.

"That's why we're committed to removing it from unintended hands," he added.

The man on Thursday was charged with 10 offences including trafficking a large commercial quantity of a drug of dependence and committing an indictable offence while on bail.

It’s not the first time that Victoria police have seized a large collection of Lego toys. In November last year, police confiscated 1,130 boxes worth more than $200,000 during an alleged Melbourne meth lab raid.

(With inputs from agencies)