One and a Half Liters of Liquid Ecstasy: Huge Drug Lab Uncovered in Vienna-Landstraße

The police seized, among other things, about one and a half liters of Liquid Ecstasy. This is the substance GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid), which is used as a narcotic, but is also often mixed with drinks and given to unsuspecting people. Due to its strong sedative effect, the substance, which falls under the Narcotics Act in Austria, is also referred to as "knockout drops".

Officers from the task force to combat street crime arrested two suspects with Austrian citizenship, aged 20 and 22, on Wednesday at the Zippererstraße subway station in Simmering. They had tried to sell cannabis to a plainclothes officer, said police spokesman Philipp Haßlinger on Friday. The investigations led to an address in the Landstraße district.

House in Vienna-Landstraße Evacuated

The public prosecutor's office ordered a house search, during which the apartment turned out to be a veritable drug lab. In addition to the Liquid Ecstasy, the police found a large number of drugs that are subject to the Narcotics Act and the NPSG ("New Psychoactive Substances Act"), as well as about 500 grams of cannabis herb.

"For the duration of the investigation of the self-built drug lab, a self-made pyrotechnic object, and a supposedly defused grenade found in the apartment, the other residents of the house were evacuated for about an hour," the spokesman reported. The operation involved hazardous materials and explosives experts from the state police directorate, as well as experts from the Federal Criminal Police Office and the bomb disposal service of the Directorate for Special Units.

Charges on Free Foot

In the Landstraße apartment, a 24-year-old was found who is now considered the main suspect. The man, also an Austrian citizen, was temporarily arrested like the alleged dealers. The two men are believed to have bought drugs, including a small amount of Liquid Ecstasy, from the 24-year-old.

The three men were not confessing during the interrogations, it was said. The two younger ones claimed to have nothing to do with the production of the drugs. The 24-year-old, presumably the drug "cook", refused to make a statement. During the official act, he had to be taken to a hospital because he was heavily under the influence of drugs, said Haßlinger. After consultation with the public prosecutor's office, all three were finally reported on free foot under the Narcotics Act.

(APA/Red)

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