The drug lab was discovered by police at an address in Waugh Rd, Toolamba, on Thursday, September 4.
Detectives from the Clandestine Laboratory Squad, along with Shepparton local police, searched the rural property, which was found to house a large sophisticated drug lab along with various chemicals and equipment.
This included about 500kg of pre-cursor chemicals and large quantities of methamphetamines and MDMA.
A 30-year-old Deer Park man was arrested and charged with a range of drug offences.
A subsequent warrant was also executed at a Braybrook storage facility on September 5, with police locating further equipment and chemicals.
A further three people were arrested, including a 40-year-old man, a 39-year-old man and a 38-year-old man, all from St Albans.
The trio were all charged with a range of drug offences, and all four men have been remanded in custody to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on March 4 next year.
The investigation remains ongoing and the Toolamba lab is still in the process of being forensically dismantled.
The discovery was part of a joint operation between all Australian state and territory police, Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre and New Zealand Police.
Focused on detecting, disrupting and enforcing illicit drug and serious and organised crime activity, the sole aim of Operation Vitreus is to reduce the availability of illicit drugs — and the associated life-changing harm they present — within the community.
This year’s week of action ran from September 1 to 5, with Victoria Police seizing drugs with a street value of $14 million in Victoria.
Just over 70kg of various drugs, including heroin, methamphetamines, cocaine, MDMA, cannabis and synthetic opioids were seized in Victoria, along with 550kg of various pre-cursor chemicals, 90 cannabis plants and just over 23 litres of 1,4-butanediol.
Victoria Police arrested 194 people, issued 438 charges and executed 39 search warrants as part of the operation.
A total of $835,000 in cash was seized as well as 18 firearms.
Nationally, police seized 569.2kg of cocaine, 90.6kg of methamphetamine, 58.3kg of ketamine, 3.1kg of MDMA, 1271 cannabis plants, 1959.2L of 1,4-butanediol and 140.4kg of loose cannabis in addition to large quantities of other drugs and precursors.
Police also seized almost $1.7 million in cash, 52 firearms and nine vehicles, and dismantled two clandestine drug labs.
