eLesson: Illicit drugs laboratories - Large-scale methamphetamine production

If you are not yet proficient in identifying and investigating illicit large-scale methamphetamine laboratories, this eLesson is a good starting point. It will help you to deal with the dangers related to large-scale methamphetamine production and will equip you to prevent and combat drug-related crimes.

Methamphetamine production in Europe has historically been carried out in smaller-scale, ‘kitchen-style’ laboratories – mainly located in Czechia and neighbouring countries – using pseudoephedrine and ephedrine as precursors. These activities remain ongoing. In parallel, however, larger-scale methamphetamine production units that can generate greater quantities of the drug from the precursor benzyl methyl ketone (BMK) are increasingly being detected in European Union (EU) Member States, particularly the Netherlands.

This eLesson delivers a virtual tour of an illegal large-scale methamphetamine production facility, detailing: the characteristics of large-scale methamphetamine laboratories; the chemicals (including precursors and pre-precursors), equipment and methods used; the hazards to be aware of; and the essential safety measures that must be taken by law enforcement officials who discover and/or are involved in investigating and dismantling such illicit drug production sites. These topics can be explored by taking a virtual tour of a large-scale methamphetamine production site and studying the interactive hotspots, which contain photos, explanatory voice-overs and texts, and videos. The tour can be taken from any computer or mobile device or by using virtual reality goggles.

The eLesson also contains a glossary of terms and abbreviations, a job aid with concrete tips and suggestions for law enforcement officials who encounter suspected large-scale methamphetamine production laboratories, and links to relevant external sources for further in-depth study.

Learners can check their levels of understanding of the topic by considering a selection of quiz questions. Upon successful completion of the session, participants will obtain a badge and certificate.

The learning outcomes of this eLesson are to:

1. Recall the main steps of large-scale methamphetamine production;
2. Detail the essential chemicals (including solvents, catalysts, precursors and pre-precursors) and equipment used in large-scale methamphetamine production;
3. Name the measures that organised crime groups take to avoid detection, including the equipment used for this purpose;
4. List the evidential value for future prosecutions of the industrial and custom-made equipment, materials and other artefacts found in large-scale methamphetamine laboratories;
5. Describe the hazards associated with illicit large-scale methamphetamine production laboratories and the countermeasures that should be taken when approaching such sites;
6. Explain the safety measures and preventive steps that non-specialist law enforcement officials should take when approaching large-scale methamphetamine production facilities.

Estimated study time: 60 minutes

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