BigTrancer
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BigTrancer
NEWS: The Age 22 Apr 05: Ecstasy worth $18m hidden in BBQ
- Thread starter BigTrancer
- Start date
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
Cowboy Mac
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The police have had great success these last few weeks (and happens to coincide with their 'tough on drugs' campaign) yet with all these multi-million dollar shipments being siezed it just makes you wonder how many arn't found. It seems entirely possible there is a multi-million dollar shipment every week coming into Australia.
phatwithapkoolwithak
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I agree cowboy.
Tip of the iceberg.
Tip of the iceberg.
comf0rtably numb
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Cowboy Mac said:
Yeh, it's definately food for thought. I'm a little suspicious about the timing of the 'tough on drugs' campaign and the big busts recently - I suppose it might just be plain coincidence but being able to produce results like this in combination with the kickoff of the drug campaign is just a little too suspect for me. It's definately enough to brainwash the media and general public into thinking that they government is 'winning the war on drugs'
As you said, another very interesting point is the increasing regularity of these busts and the very minimal effect they have on the market. I mean, if miliions of pills are confiscated without even making a dent in the market, how many pills must be being imported illegally each week? How many pills are made locally then? Definately food for thought.
BigTrancer
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Feeding on that thought ...
So what happens if the media and the general public begin to think the Government is winning the so-called "War on Drugs"? It's not enough to be getting results surely, because while there is still a problem at the ground level, the War will never be won. Even as significant an accomplishment as turning the tide in favour of law enforcement would be trivial compared to stamping out entirely the Evil confronting the innocent children.
So buoyed by the public opinion in their favour does the Government not funnel more funds into the War, supplying more resources and gradually increasing the odds of detecting any consignment of drugs en route to Australia?
Further, the media hype surrounding each 'biggest bust ever' and the millions of busted dollars headlined in inches tall font every year surely has the possibility to convince the general public that it's getting harder to get drugs into the country. Is it possible that eventually the dealers and their overseas suppliers will believe the same thing - with an escalation in the number of multi-million dollar busts there must be a crossover point where the Australian market becomes uneconomical... but in a sense I guess it's as tough to judge that as measuring the number and strength of the enemy in a war.
BigTrancer
So what happens if the media and the general public begin to think the Government is winning the so-called "War on Drugs"? It's not enough to be getting results surely, because while there is still a problem at the ground level, the War will never be won. Even as significant an accomplishment as turning the tide in favour of law enforcement would be trivial compared to stamping out entirely the Evil confronting the innocent children.
So buoyed by the public opinion in their favour does the Government not funnel more funds into the War, supplying more resources and gradually increasing the odds of detecting any consignment of drugs en route to Australia?
Further, the media hype surrounding each 'biggest bust ever' and the millions of busted dollars headlined in inches tall font every year surely has the possibility to convince the general public that it's getting harder to get drugs into the country. Is it possible that eventually the dealers and their overseas suppliers will believe the same thing - with an escalation in the number of multi-million dollar busts there must be a crossover point where the Australian market becomes uneconomical... but in a sense I guess it's as tough to judge that as measuring the number and strength of the enemy in a war.
BigTrancer
BigTrancer
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^ *BEEP BEEP* FABRICATED STATISTIC ALERT
If you're going to use statistics, please try to get a source for them. Making up numbers for the same purpose is a waste of time. There is sure to be a large number of pills consumed in Australia every day, but nobody knows how many.
If you want to estimate it, take the NDARC figures on percentages of people who use drugs regularly, multiply by number of people in a relevant age group, factor in average number of pills per week/month/year, divide by pill taking frequency... then admit its a guess at a large number and move on...
BT
If you're going to use statistics, please try to get a source for them. Making up numbers for the same purpose is a waste of time. There is sure to be a large number of pills consumed in Australia every day, but nobody knows how many.
If you want to estimate it, take the NDARC figures on percentages of people who use drugs regularly, multiply by number of people in a relevant age group, factor in average number of pills per week/month/year, divide by pill taking frequency... then admit its a guess at a large number and move on...
BT
Sevoflurane
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$18m drug haul 'needle in a haystack'
April 22, 2005 - 4:19PM
An Australian Customs official has likened the discovery of $18 million worth of ecstasy tablets in a shipping container to finding a needle in a haystack.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) agents seized the 370,000 ecstasy tablets in a Melbourne freight warehouse on Thursday night.
The drugs were initially discovered by customs officers in a shipping container at Port Botany in Sydney's south on April 6.
Police later tracked their delivery by road to a Tullamarine warehouse in Melbourne's north-west.
Three men and one woman arrested at the warehouse were to appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
Customs NSW regional director David Collins said the 91.7 kg of drugs were hidden in plastic pipes inside eight metal barbecues shipped to Australia from Rotterdam, Germany.
The original shipment left Germany on March 1.
Mr Collins said the drugs were discovered after intelligence officers at Port Botany chose the shipping container for inspection.
"This detection is what we, Customs, describe as a cold hit," he said.
"Customs intelligence analysts selected the shipment for examination without any prior intelligence.
"This is a very difficult task when you consider that the shipment was selected from approximately 52,000 shipments that reach Sydney every month.
"It's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack when you consider the odds."
Mr Collins said seven per cent of all shipping containers to come to Australia were x-rayed.
But 100 per cent were assessed by intelligence staff in an attempt to determine which were suspicious, he said.
"It's a never ending battle," Mr Collins said.
"We never find the same method used twice because obviously people become aware of other methodology, so we are always looking for something different and therein lies a challenge."
Sydney AFP manager Warren Gray said the drug seizure was significant and was certain to have an impact on the local drug market.
This discovery follows the world's biggest ecstasy bust made in Melbourne last week which involved five million tablets worth an estimated $250 million.
"Obviously we would like to think that we are getting better at intercepting these drugs and I think the work we've done, both Australian Federal Police and Customs, over the last period is an indicator that we do very well at that," he said.
"As with all large seizures it's going to have a very good impact on the local market in Melbourne particularly."
He would not comment on those arrested, except to allege they were major players of a sophisticated syndicate.
Link
April 22, 2005 - 4:19PM
An Australian Customs official has likened the discovery of $18 million worth of ecstasy tablets in a shipping container to finding a needle in a haystack.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) agents seized the 370,000 ecstasy tablets in a Melbourne freight warehouse on Thursday night.
The drugs were initially discovered by customs officers in a shipping container at Port Botany in Sydney's south on April 6.
Police later tracked their delivery by road to a Tullamarine warehouse in Melbourne's north-west.
Three men and one woman arrested at the warehouse were to appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
Customs NSW regional director David Collins said the 91.7 kg of drugs were hidden in plastic pipes inside eight metal barbecues shipped to Australia from Rotterdam, Germany.
The original shipment left Germany on March 1.
Mr Collins said the drugs were discovered after intelligence officers at Port Botany chose the shipping container for inspection.
"This detection is what we, Customs, describe as a cold hit," he said.
"Customs intelligence analysts selected the shipment for examination without any prior intelligence.
"This is a very difficult task when you consider that the shipment was selected from approximately 52,000 shipments that reach Sydney every month.
"It's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack when you consider the odds."
Mr Collins said seven per cent of all shipping containers to come to Australia were x-rayed.
But 100 per cent were assessed by intelligence staff in an attempt to determine which were suspicious, he said.
"It's a never ending battle," Mr Collins said.
"We never find the same method used twice because obviously people become aware of other methodology, so we are always looking for something different and therein lies a challenge."
Sydney AFP manager Warren Gray said the drug seizure was significant and was certain to have an impact on the local drug market.
This discovery follows the world's biggest ecstasy bust made in Melbourne last week which involved five million tablets worth an estimated $250 million.
"Obviously we would like to think that we are getting better at intercepting these drugs and I think the work we've done, both Australian Federal Police and Customs, over the last period is an indicator that we do very well at that," he said.
"As with all large seizures it's going to have a very good impact on the local market in Melbourne particularly."
He would not comment on those arrested, except to allege they were major players of a sophisticated syndicate.
Link
Witch Doctor
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hah Sevoflurane, u beat me to it
thats pretty unlucky when u think about it.
thats pretty unlucky when u think about it.
aunty establishment
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Wow, I'm surprised they admitted it was a cold hit. It's kind of like saying to that particular drug syndicate "Better luck next time fellas". I'd have thought it was in the cops' interest to make it seem like they had intelligence to support the find.
phatwithapkoolwithak
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Very good impact?
I'm interested to see whether anybody notices any impact whatsoever.
Smugglers, importers, and the like, are similar to some sort of Greek mythical creature. You know, the ones if you cut one of their snarlin' heads right off, another two of the 'lil bastards 'pop' right out in its place. And these two newbies are smarter, angrier and have 600 more teeth than before.
lostNfound
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Still people are going to do their best to get consignments like this here.
Australia eating the most pills per capita in the world.
They all know we have the best/biggest market for it and they want to get their product onto our shores.
This wont stop them, IMO anyway.
Australia eating the most pills per capita in the world.
They all know we have the best/biggest market for it and they want to get their product onto our shores.
This wont stop them, IMO anyway.
chandler
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BigTrancer said:^ *BEEP BEEP* FABRICATED STATISTIC ALERT
If you're going to use statistics, please try to get a source for them. Making up numbers for the same purpose is a waste of time. There is sure to be a large number of pills consumed in Australia every day, but nobody knows how many.
If you want to estimate it, take the NDARC figures on percentages of people who use drugs regularly, multiply by number of people in a relevant age group, factor in average number of pills per week/month/year, divide by pill taking frequency... then admit its a guess at a large number and move on...
BT
I'm both too stoned, and too apathetic to have a decent look. My memory is poor, so I can't remember where I read it, but I do remember reading it from a reliable source...
Maybe some energetic young punter could find out...
Pleonastic
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When they talk about the impact, I think the key words they use are "impact on the local market". Whoever was importing those drugs was obviously going to sell them to someone who now can't get them. So they're by definition "impacted". This imact will filter down the massive spider web of deals to the end user only if one branch of the web relied only on that source. You'd assume that a lot of middle range dealers might have a couple of different options to get their bulk stuff, and if one of their options is cut off then they could probably still rely on their other ones. Plus there'd be dealers along the chain who might be saving for a rainy day (read: bust) and have a supply stored away so they could keep selling in the event their regular supply was cut from above.
I guess the point is that the end users will almost never be affected by a bust, and it would be almost impossible that a supply would be suddenly totally cut off. The "impact" is more that middle level dealers would simply have to find new contacts, or if the bust is big enough then there may be a very temporary dip in availability while mid level shuffling takes place.
Seems logical to me at least...
I guess the point is that the end users will almost never be affected by a bust, and it would be almost impossible that a supply would be suddenly totally cut off. The "impact" is more that middle level dealers would simply have to find new contacts, or if the bust is big enough then there may be a very temporary dip in availability while mid level shuffling takes place.
Seems logical to me at least...
