CHEMISTS in the City of Whittlesea are being hit by robbers targeting cold medications used to make illegal drugs, according to police.
An undisclosed number of pharmacies had been hit by “smash-grab” raids in which robbers were after cold and flu remedies that contain pseudoephedrine, Inspector Bob Dykstra said.
He said the medications could be used to make methamphetamines, commonly known as speed and ice, in backyard laboratories.
“There are smash-and-grab raids all over the northwestern metropolitan area,” he said.
He declined to comment on the number of chemists hit but said pharmacies had been warned about the “large spate” of raids in recent months.
Apart from the City of Whittlesea, there have been reports of raids on chemists in Montmorency, Greensborough and Lower Plenty.
