About a tonne of the industrial solvent known as "bute" that has been responsible for dozens of drug overdoses in clubs and at music festivals has been seized in Melbourne's inner-north.
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The latest haul is expected to put even more pressure on the federal government to close a loophole that allows the chemical to be legally imported.
Along with the near tonne of bute, almost 28,000 ecstasy tablets were seized at a Coburg property on September 14.
A 29-year-old man, who Fairfax Media has decided not to name, has been charged with trafficking large commercial quantities of both drugs. He was remanded to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court next month.
Bute, formally known as 1,4-Butanediol, is sold at nightclubs and music festivals as the drug GHB.
Criminal syndicates are able to import the deadly drug by claiming that it's used for industrial purposes.
But a source familiar with Melbourne's drug trade said 1,4-Butanediol had become more lucrative than cocaine and was increasingly being targeted by Middle Eastern crime gangs.
He said the drug was easily sourced from online supplier Alibaba and retailed in clubs for about $4 per millilitre.
"A metric tonne costing roughly $4000 returns $4 million street value and can be imported under the pretense of an 'industrial cleaning product' provided a bogus cleaning company is set up with an ABN. Whereas, a kilogram of cocaine purchased in the US for $50,000 returns roughly $350,000," the source said.
"It doesn't require a nuclear physicist to work out that GHB is literally 100 times more profitable, with 8 per cent of the investment for cocaine importation."
On the weekend, Fairfax Media revealed the baffling anomaly that allows the trade in bute to flourish.
Under Victorian law, it is illegal to possess bute, which is usually sold in small fish-shaped soy sauce bottles as GHB, liquid ecstasy or liquid fantasy.
But under Commonwealth law, it is not illegal to import vast quantities of the drug for industrial purposes, which includes the manufacture of several synthetic products.
Until now, the Federal Government has failed to make it a substance that can only be imported under licence for manufacturing purposes.
The loophole, combined with burgeoning demand from nightclub patrons, has contributed to a sharp increase in seizures by law enforcement agencies across Australia.
Over the past three years, Victoria Police have confiscated 19 tonnes of bute, but just 10 millilitres of GHB was seized over the same period.
Police sources said some gangs had begun stockpiling the drug in anticipation of legislative change to belatedly close the loophole.
In June, six patrons at a King Street nightclub were hospitalised after taking GHB, which was believed to be bute.
At the time, Ambulance Victoria executive director of emergency operations Mick Stephenson warned of a sharp increase in GHB overdoses in Melbourne.
He said the "wildly unpredictable" drug was taken for its euphoric effects, but suppressed users' consciousness, which put them at risk of choking.
When swallowed, bute is turned into GHB by the liver, but as the process is slower, users often take a second or third dose - resulting in a massive number of overdoses.
Virtually all overdoses reported to be GHB-related are actually caused by bute, although pathology tests cannot differentiate between the two.
And police say bute is now the date rape drug of choice, sweetened with a touch of cordial to mask the bitter taste.
The risk of overdose increases significantly when GHB is combined with other drugs or alcohol.
With John Silvester
