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Aus - 23 tonnes of drugs worth $5 billion seized across Australia in 2011-12
The Australian Crime Commission's (ACC) annual illicit drug data report shows drug purity is on the rise and Australia is a target.
The ACC handed down its 2011-12 report at Sydney's international mail centre this morning, as the report shows parcel post accounts for the largest number of illicit drug border detections.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus says more than 23 tonnes of drugs worth over $5 billion were seized nationally in 2011-12.
That is a 154 per cent increase from the 9.3 tonnes seized in 2010-11.
There were also 93,000 drug-related arrests and a record 809 hidden drug laboratories discovered.
Key points
Over 23 tonnes of drugs seized nationally in 2001-12
That's a 154 per cent increase from the 9.3 tonnes seized in 2010-11
The drugs were worth more than $5 billion
There were 93,000 drug-related arrests
A record 809 hidden drug laboratories discovered
Read the full report: http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/p...-data-report/illicit-drug-data-report-2011-12
Police found the smugglers' methods included concealing drugs in kettles, curry paste jars, safe boxes, batteries and whiteboard markers.
Mr Negus says Australia is a target.
"We have intelligence and we are being targeted in this country," he said.
"The relative height of the Australian dollar, the relative wealth of this country compared to others at the moment means we are a target.
"But I think the higher rate of seizures we have actually made over the last 12 months shows enforcement is meeting that challenge head on."
We asked our readers if they were surprised by the report's findings. Here's what you had to say.
Ice and speed getting purer in most states
The report shows the drugs ice and speed are getting purer in most Australian states.
In the 2011-12 financial year, the purity of ice more than doubled in Victoria and New South Wales, while prices remained stable.
There is concern this could mean a growing supply of the drug along the Australian east coast.
Make no mistake - illicit drugs are a disease in this society, inflicting untold harm on communities, on families, on individuals.
ACC CEO John Lawler
"There is more attempt to get high-quality narcotics into this country because the market demands that is the case," Mr Negus said.
ACC chief executive officer John Lawler says criminals are becoming more sophisticated.
He says while cannabis remains the dominant illicit drug in Australia, the prominence of other drugs like amphetamines, stimulants and cocaine is on the rise.
"Make no mistake, illicit drugs are a disease in this society, inflicting untold harm on communities, on families, on individuals," he said.
"Just as legitimate markets have diversified their operations and taken full advantage of globalisation, so too have the criminals that trade in illicit drugs.
"There is increasing diversity in the embarkation points for illicit drugs, the range of transit countries, the concealment methodologies that you see here before you are evolving and becoming more sophisticated than ever.
"And we're seeing even greater diversity in the drugs themselves."
'I remember being asked if I wanted to buy heroin'
Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare, who formally released the report, recalled his own exposure to drugs as he was growing up in Cabramatta in Sydney's south-west.
"I grew up seeing the scourge of drugs up close and what it does to society," he said.
"As a young bloke, catching the train to university, I remember almost every day on the way home being asked if I wanted to buy heroin.
"Friends I went to school with became heroin addicts, people I knew through school ended up going to jail."
Mr Clare says the key to stopping drugs is police teamwork and criminal intelligence.
"We need to expand the use of both, and that's exactly what we're doing," he said.
"Eighty-five per cent of the drugs we seize are because of criminal intelligence that our law enforcement agencies collect before the drugs ever arrive in Australia."
The ACC also announced record seizures of hormones in performance- and image-enhancing drugs.
ACC executive director Paul Jevtovic says the sports drug area is on the rise, hence the commission's focus on drugs in sport.
"In relation to hormones, it's the highest reported detections that we've had in the last decade," he said.
"Steroids, for example, are also one of those things used, and we actually incorporate steroids and hormones in the category of image-enhancing drugs."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-20/4700090
The Australian Crime Commission's (ACC) annual illicit drug data report shows drug purity is on the rise and Australia is a target.
The ACC handed down its 2011-12 report at Sydney's international mail centre this morning, as the report shows parcel post accounts for the largest number of illicit drug border detections.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus says more than 23 tonnes of drugs worth over $5 billion were seized nationally in 2011-12.
That is a 154 per cent increase from the 9.3 tonnes seized in 2010-11.
There were also 93,000 drug-related arrests and a record 809 hidden drug laboratories discovered.
Key points
Over 23 tonnes of drugs seized nationally in 2001-12
That's a 154 per cent increase from the 9.3 tonnes seized in 2010-11
The drugs were worth more than $5 billion
There were 93,000 drug-related arrests
A record 809 hidden drug laboratories discovered
Read the full report: http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/p...-data-report/illicit-drug-data-report-2011-12
Police found the smugglers' methods included concealing drugs in kettles, curry paste jars, safe boxes, batteries and whiteboard markers.
Mr Negus says Australia is a target.
"We have intelligence and we are being targeted in this country," he said.
"The relative height of the Australian dollar, the relative wealth of this country compared to others at the moment means we are a target.
"But I think the higher rate of seizures we have actually made over the last 12 months shows enforcement is meeting that challenge head on."
We asked our readers if they were surprised by the report's findings. Here's what you had to say.
Ice and speed getting purer in most states
The report shows the drugs ice and speed are getting purer in most Australian states.
In the 2011-12 financial year, the purity of ice more than doubled in Victoria and New South Wales, while prices remained stable.
There is concern this could mean a growing supply of the drug along the Australian east coast.
Make no mistake - illicit drugs are a disease in this society, inflicting untold harm on communities, on families, on individuals.
ACC CEO John Lawler
"There is more attempt to get high-quality narcotics into this country because the market demands that is the case," Mr Negus said.
ACC chief executive officer John Lawler says criminals are becoming more sophisticated.
He says while cannabis remains the dominant illicit drug in Australia, the prominence of other drugs like amphetamines, stimulants and cocaine is on the rise.
"Make no mistake, illicit drugs are a disease in this society, inflicting untold harm on communities, on families, on individuals," he said.
"Just as legitimate markets have diversified their operations and taken full advantage of globalisation, so too have the criminals that trade in illicit drugs.
"There is increasing diversity in the embarkation points for illicit drugs, the range of transit countries, the concealment methodologies that you see here before you are evolving and becoming more sophisticated than ever.
"And we're seeing even greater diversity in the drugs themselves."
'I remember being asked if I wanted to buy heroin'
Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare, who formally released the report, recalled his own exposure to drugs as he was growing up in Cabramatta in Sydney's south-west.
"I grew up seeing the scourge of drugs up close and what it does to society," he said.
"As a young bloke, catching the train to university, I remember almost every day on the way home being asked if I wanted to buy heroin.
"Friends I went to school with became heroin addicts, people I knew through school ended up going to jail."
Mr Clare says the key to stopping drugs is police teamwork and criminal intelligence.
"We need to expand the use of both, and that's exactly what we're doing," he said.
"Eighty-five per cent of the drugs we seize are because of criminal intelligence that our law enforcement agencies collect before the drugs ever arrive in Australia."
The ACC also announced record seizures of hormones in performance- and image-enhancing drugs.
ACC executive director Paul Jevtovic says the sports drug area is on the rise, hence the commission's focus on drugs in sport.
"In relation to hormones, it's the highest reported detections that we've had in the last decade," he said.
"Steroids, for example, are also one of those things used, and we actually incorporate steroids and hormones in the category of image-enhancing drugs."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-20/4700090
