eLesson: Illicit drugs laboratories - Small-scale methamphetamine production

The 2022 European Drug Report on Trends and Developments highlighted notable increases in methamphetamine manufacture in several regions of the EU, and identified three main hubs of production: Czechia and bordering areas; the Baltic States (particularly Lithuania); and the Netherlands and Belgium.

Methamphetamine production within the EU has traditionally been carried out in small-scale ‘kitchen-type’ laboratories that use precursor chemicals extracted from medicines and supply the local market. However, recent reports have suggested that this picture is changing.

Illegal methamphetamine production laboratories can present immediate risks to members of local communities, law enforcement officials, and other specialists involved in their investigation and disassembly – as well as to the criminals who operate them. The dumping of waste produced during methamphetamine synthesis can have wide-ranging and long-lasting environmental repercussions, and the clean-up costs can be a significant drain on the public purse.

This eLesson delivers a virtual tour of methamphetamine production units, detailing their identifying characteristics; the steps that must be taken during investigation and clean-up; the essential safety measures required by law enforcement officials and specialists at the scene; the scale of the problem within the EU; the environmental and financial costs; and the involvement of OCGs. These topics can be explored by taking the tour and studying the interactive hotspots, which comprise photos, explanatory texts and videos. The tour can be taken from any computer or mobile device and by using virtual reality goggles.

The eLesson also contains a glossary of terms and abbreviations, and a job aid with concrete tips and suggestions for law enforcement officials who encounter suspected methamphetamine production laboratories.

eLearners can check their levels of understanding of the topic by considering a selection of quiz questions. On 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 the most common small-scale methamphetamine production methods.
2. Detail the essential chemicals, precursors and equipment used for small-scale methamphetamine production.
3. Name the measures that OCGs take to avoid detection, including the equipment used for this purpose.
4. List the evidential value of different traces, accurate and/or misleading labels, notes, used equipment, packaging materials and other artefacts found in illicit small-scale methamphetamine production facilities for future prosecutions.
5. Describe the hazards associated with investigating illicit small-scale kitchen-style methamphetamine production laboratories and the countermeasures that should be taken when approaching such facilities.

Estimated study time: 60 minutes

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