Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
AUSTRALIAN Border Force officers have made several seizures of what’s believed to be one of the deadliest drugs ever made — 10,000 times stronger than heroin.
The seizures of synthetic opiate W-18 has sparked a grim warning from Australian Border Force boss Roman Quaedvlieg, given the drug is believed to be even deadlier than the potent opioid fentanyl, which is also being seized.
“Fentanyl is not the worst of it,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“There are a couple of derivatives out there that don’t even have a name yet ... chemical analogs known as W, which are even more potent than fentanyl.”
In May this year NSW Coroner Michael Barnes issued a public warning after 13 people died in one month after taking heroin suspected of being laced with fentanyl.
“We are finding small incidents of fentanyl being seized at the border. It is a highly potent form of opiate which is coming into this country,” Mr Quaedvlieg said.
“When I spoke to our counterparts in US and Canada recently they said we should be aware of it, and I commissioned some research and found, as well as our detections, there is evidence from state and territories police and number of coronial inquiries supporting this.”
There is no way to test for W-18 in the bloodstream. W-18 comes in pill or powder form and only emerged as a recreational drug two years ago,
While warning of the new wave of deadly opiates emerging around the world, the top law enforcement official said it paled in comparison to the “tsunami of meth’’ in various forms still flooding into Australia from China and South-East Asia.
“The Chinese authorities who are pushing back against drug production are finding entire villages involved in the production of methamphetamine,” he said
“Many of the locals derive their livelihood from being part of the production process.
“Primarily the epicentre is the south of China but I have a more expansive view and think the entire Asian continent is involved, particularly around the Mekong.’’
He said the new ABF, which is an expanded version of the old customs department, was building partnerships with other counties and the Australian Federal Police to try to disrupt drugs at the “embarkation point’’ before they get to our borders.
Prime Minister Malcolm with member of the Australian Border Force / Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen
“We are better off investing money and effort in supporting our partners at the genesis point than playing goalkeeper,’’ he said.
In his first major interview since the ABF was formed in July last year Mr Quaedvlieg said his officers were also seeing more use of “fast air’’ parcels as a way to import drugs into Australia: “Until recently the fast parcel business has been run by the big four, DHL, FedEx, TNT and UPS.
“Now that industry is beset by ‘disrupters’ — which are fly-by night operators springing up who are smaller and less reputable that the big four.
“They don’t have an interest in maintaining a global reputation or have internal integrity systems and don’t want to work with authorities.”
He said drug importers were increasingly using the “scattergun approach’’ when using airmail for their deliveries.
“It’s a commercial decision by the transnational crime syndicates not only to get them to the destination point efficiently and with speed — it’s a risk diversification exercise.
“If you put 500kg importation into a seagoing container and is detected it is a major financial loss but if you put 50 x 10kg parcels through the airstream, authorities will not detect all of them.
“Then there is a network here that will recollect all the parcels once they are through, reconsolidate it, then the wholesalers and retailers will do what they do.
“It is sent to a variety of destinations such as parcel lockers, share houses, vacant lots (and) flats, and they get young students, mainly Chinese who may or may not be aware of the contents, and pay them $100 or $200 to collect the parcel, and then someone will pick it up for them.’’
He said the Australian Border Force was working with their counterparts in China on the entire drug importation problem.
“We are seeing that Chinese people are concerned their students are facing hefty sentences as couriers because they don’t know they are involved in drugs,” he said.
“They are as concerned about their students and citizens being exploited as are we.”
GANGSTERS SMUGGLING IN ILLEGAL WORKERS
Mark Morri
INTERNATIONAL crime gangs are bringing in thousands of overseas workers on legal visas then using them as slave labour in the sex, agriculture and retail industries.
The Australian Border Force believes the problem is much bigger than previously thought and recent arrests are “just lifting the rock off the top’’ of a massive illegal trade being run by transcontinental crime cartels.
“All day, every day we are seeing the exploitation of foreign workers, but when you lift the rock and look at all the entities involved from the labour hire, migration brokers, visa sponsors, you will see organised crime involved,’’ Australian Border force boss Roman Quaedvlieg said.
In a recent raid 44 workers were found in Coffs Harbour working as cheap labour in the blueberry industry. They had either overstayed their visas or were in breach of their visa conditions.
“I don’t think it is an emerging thing, I think it has been going on a long time,” he said.
“The ABF, Customs and Immigration and Fair Work Ombudsmen work together and have found examples of organised crime not just selling visas as a commodity, but exploiting visas.
“We are looking at not just arresting the illegal workers but the enablers.
“They exploit the visa system so they can underpay them. The crime gangs get a cut all along the way and will get commissions via the education house, studying college or labour hire company doing co-ordination with the agriculture industry.’’
Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...a/news-story/8d5087db9a92f29095ac94817136b3d0
