Australia is facing a crystal meth pandemic, authorities said yesterday as they announced arrests and seizures over illicit drugs reached an all-time high last year.
The government-run Australian Crime Commission (ACC) said in a report that the situation was “gravely serious,” with international cartels at the heart of the problem.
“National illicit drug seizures and arrests were at record or decade highs for nearly all drug types in this reporting period,” ACC acting chief executive Paul Jevtovic said. “Illicit drug use in Australia, and the profits gained from it, is directly linked to transnational organized crime groups that are implicated in large-scale criminality and corruption overseas.”
Photo: AFP / Australian Federal Police
During the financial year to July last year, a record 101,749 arrests were made and there were 86,918 seizures of illicit drugs — a 66 percent increase over the past decade.
“Australians, for whatever reason, are prepared to pay a high price for illicit drugs, probably because they can,” ACC official Judy Lind told reporters. “And in the last four or five years, international drug cartels have cottoned on to that.”
While cannabis still dominates the market, the prevalence of cocaine and performance-enhancing drugs was also at record highs.
There was also a massive surge in the availability of ice — or crystal methamphetamine — which is now second only to cannabis in popularity, with seizures up more than 300 percent in a year.
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