Report a drug dealer
There are 4 ways to report a drug dealer or suspected drug lab:
- Report online now
- Report directly to your local police station
- Contact Policelink on 131 444
- Contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000
Questions the police will ask you
The more information you can provide when you report a drug matter, the easier it will be for the police to find the suspect.
Police will ask you for information about:
- the person’s appearance and manner
- where the person lives, including address, phone numbers, property description, how long they’ve lived there, whether there are children or dangerous dogs, and whether there are firearms or weapons on the property
- the person’s cars, including registration details
- the names and address of anyone else involved, as well as how often they come around and what activity you’ve seen between them (e.g. exchanges of cash or packages)
- what drugs they’re dealing and how you know what they look like or how they’re packaged
- what times of the day or night these people come around.
If you suspect a drug lab
What to do
If you find or suspect a drug lab, get out and call the police.
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.
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
Some signs of a drug lab:
- suspicious items, including improvised heating and cooling mechanisms
- used materials surrounding a property, including cold and flu medicine packets, empty pseudoephedrine blister strips, gas cylinders or butane fuel cans, stained coffee filters, pH testers or test strips, water pumps
- an unusual chemical smell
- plastic containers, with or without chemical labels
- laboratory glassware
- fan or pump noises
- 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
- unusual electrical work
- hoses and pipes near windows or doors
- extractor fans, particularly in garages or sheds
- chemical/reaction waste, often carelessly disposed of
- suspicious packages brought onto premises by couriers or other means.
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 persons are.
More information
Find out about the support services available if you are concerned about your own or someone else’s drug use.