Family's Vacation Was Ruined When Police Raided Airbnb And Found Drugs
A family reportedly rented a house on Airbnb for a vacation, only to see the location raided by police who searched the home for drugs.
Dieter Winkler, 48, along with his partner and five children, ages 9 to 18, rented the three-bedroom home in Burleigh Heads, Australia for a trip just after Christmas, News.com.au reports.
An 11-night stay at the home not far from the beach reportedly cost the family $1,800.
The owner of the property declared one of the bedrooms "off-limits" due to an alleged electrical issue, but Dieter was skeptical because the room's lights were on all day and night.
On December 27, less than 24 hours after the family arrived, Dieter said a number of armed police officers wearing bulletproof vests broke through the home's front door.
The family was told to sit in the living room as police kicked down the door of the "off-limits" bedroom and discovered eight marijuana plants.
Police also went through the family's luggage and reportedly questioned family members for five hours.
Dieter Winkler told Gold Coast Bulletin,
The cops piled in on a mission. They didn't know we were innocent, so it wasn't a friendly reception. We'd just been getting ready for a barbecue.
According to Daily Mail, the family left the home, but the only available place to stay cost the family $2,600 and was almost 20 miles away.
Airbnb, however, apparently refunded the $1,800 and offered to pay for the family's stay at the second home.
An Airbnb spokesman said,
The activity is illegal and absolutely does not reflect the views of Airbnb. We have taken the house off our website and have fully refunded the family.
The raid reportedly resulted in a 40-year-old woman being charged with unlawfully producing a dangerous drug.
She will appear in court on February 28.
Airbnb bookings ended in freakish surprises before, but it's often the fault of the renters.
On New Year's Eve, a Montreal couple spent their wedding night with renters who ended up inviting several people over to their apartment for a cocaine-fueled sex party.
Citations: Coast holiday-makers were raided by police who found their rented home was a drug lab (News.com.au), Family of seven who rented a holiday home over Christmas on Airbnb raided by police who found a DRUG LAB in a locked room (Daily Mail), Coast holiday-makers were raided by police who found their rented home was a drug lab (Gold Coast Bulletin)
