Global Meth Solutions sells small devices able to detect meth use and then alert the homeowner

A Brisbane company whose investors include a well-known former publican have worldwide patents for a device that will have a natural appeal to landlords.

FEW start-up operators would get the opportunity to pick the brain of someone like esteemed bizoid Don Argus, the retired former chairman of BHP Billiton and an ex-boss of NAB.

But when the new company counts brother Dave Argus among the investors, then it’s a different story.

Dave, the one-time publican who used to operate Brisbane’s historic Plough Inn, now has a stake in an outfit known as Global Meth Solutions, which sells small devices able to detect the use of methamphetamine in a home and then alert the owner by text message.

“We talked to Don for a bit of guidance. He gave us a few ideas and helped with the business plan,’’ Dave told City Beat as he was recuperating at home following knee replacement surgery.

Launched in May, the Brisbane-based company now has worldwide patents for the smoke-detector-like contraption known as the Meth Breaker, which has a natural appeal for landlords who obviously don’t want their properties used as illegal drug labs or trashed by ice-addicted tenants.

The devices, which have a range of 100sq m, test the air every 30 minutes and send a weekly report to a nominated mobile phone.

If at any point if they get a reading at or above the Australian standards level, an alert is sent straight away. Any effort to tamper with or cover the devices will also prompt a text.

GLOBAL INTEREST

Overseeing Global Meth Solutions are three directors, lawyer Glenn Ferguson and real estate agents Sam Devlin and Aaron Brooks, who jointly run the Harcourts outpost at Coorparoo.

Each of these gents has an equity stake in the business, as does Dave’s longtime mate, David Pie, a major shareholder.

Pie said the units are produced in Auckland because the concept was developed there by a couple of blokes who had “personal issues’’ regarding meth.

Online sales started about two months ago and roughly 250 units have already flown out the door at a pre-GST price of $635 a piece, plus $66 a year for a SIM card, a small charge for text messages and an annual battery change.

Based on the growing scourge of ice use, Pie is now forecasting tens of thousands of sales around the globe.

“We have had interest from different countries around the world but, in particular, the USA, where we have an affiliate based in California,’’ Pie said.

State governments would also seem to be a no-brainer client given how much public housing they control.

Pie revealed that he pitched the concept to the gang working for Housing and Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni but got a lukewarm response. The Opposition, though, seems more keen on the idea.

It’s not hard to see why.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission estimates that more than 8.3 tonnes of meth is consumed in Australia each year.

Agency data shows nearly 470 labs were busted in 2016-17 and research suggests that 1 in 70 Australian have used meth in the past year.

Source: https://www.couriermail.com.au/business/citybeat/global-meth-solutions-sells-small-devices-able-to-detect-meth-use-and-then-alert-the-homeowner/news-story/9be8ccda496b1d6bf0ac63223f6d4986