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title: Family Rents Airbnb That Turns Out to Be Drug Den
description: An Australian family&#x27;s stay at an Airbnb rental took a surprising turn when police raided the house to find a marijuana-growing operation.
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# An Australian Family Rents an Airbnb That Turns Out to Be a Drug Den

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by 

[Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/)


## Nash Jenkins


Jan 8, 2016 9:15 AM UTC

by 

[Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/)


## Nash Jenkins


Jan 8, 2016 9:15 AM UTC

An Australian family’s stay at a home rented via Airbnb took a grim turn on Dec. 27 when armed police officers raided the house [on account of](http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/familys-airbnb-drug-house-nightmare-as-police-raid-holiday-home-and-find-hydroponic-setup/story-fni0cx12-1227701318306) a marijuana-growing operation in one of the bedrooms.

Sydney residents Dieter Winkler, his partner and their five children were fixing a barbecue at the vacation home on Australia’s Gold Coast when 10 officers broke down the front door, the _Daily_ _Telegraph_ reported. The officers detained and questioned the family in the house’s living room for five hours after the hydroponic setup was discovered in a locked bedroom.

The Winklers, who spent around $1,260 on their planned 11-night stay at the house, had been told by the homeowners that the bedroom where the marijuana lab was located had been closed off because of an electrical fault.

Police [said](http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/goldcoast/2015/12/29/hydroponic-cannabis-setup-located-burleigh-heads-holiday-house/) on Dec. 29 that they charged a 40-year-old woman with “unlawfully producing a dangerous drug” and confirmed that the Winkler family was unaware of the operation.

Airbnb provided the Winklers with a refund of around $3,100 to compensate for their original expenses and the cost of finding new accommodations.

\[[_The Daily Telegraph_](http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/familys-airbnb-drug-house-nightmare-as-police-raid-holiday-home-and-find-hydroponic-setup/story-fni0cx12-1227701318306)\]

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