It sounds almost unbelievable, but the police have busted an incoming shipping container load of three tonnes of illegal drugs destined for the streets of Sydney - with a value estimated to bring in a trade return of one and half billion dollars.
It contained 1917 kg of Ecstacy and 849 kg of Crystal Methamphetamine, and this was the second biggest drug bust - ever - in this country. The drug squad estimates that had it gone undetected it would have provided at least ten million individual "hits "of Ecstacy on the party scene - and probably caused at least a few deaths.
This shipping container started it's journey from Germany, and that country is low on the list of potential drug sources. The manifest described the container contents as furniture and personal effects, and so far the bust has led to six arrests when Sydney based Australian citizens attempted to claim the goods. The police comment that the net is widening, and they expect to close down a much bigger distribution network.
We are accustomed to many suburban drug "labs "churning out a mixed bag of drugs at a range of purities, but it takes big money and a sophisticated network to finance and create an individual shipment of this magnitude. These decisions would not have been taken lightly. There would have been expectations of great monetary rewards - and in the crime world failure brings consequences. Highly placed people will be wondering what exactly went wrong - and who is to blame. Those under suspicion may well have a very short life expectation !
The police are not saying how they became alerted nor what information led to a search of that particular shipping container, but is seems evident that policing methods are keeping pace with the sophisticated crime networks that control the drug trade. Organized crime includes many bikie gangs and there are indications that drugs have become a source of income for the regimes of some overseas countries. When drug crime becomes the business of government, a whole new range of protocols and trade agreements come into play to make the movement of goods more opaque.
This particular bust has certainly caused it's originators a severe financial loss. The cost of assembling the drug quantity that would return $ 1.5 billion on the streets would be a mere fraction of that amount, but it disrupts the drug supply in Australia and causes shortages that will be applauded by competitors - who will seek to reap rewards by plugging that gap at higher returns. Then there is the loss of face. A well oiled drug network is thrown into disarray - and the "little people" who earn a a tenuous living running drugs find their cash flow has ceased.
It would be too easy to claim that this bust has stopped the drug trade in Sydney in it's tracks. It is possible - even likely - that other shipments have managed to evade police surveillance and merged into the distribution chains. What does seem certain is that drug supply sophistication is heading more towards bulk intrusions - and away from the dangers of "cooking " smaller quantities in suburban locations.
The other pointer to how the drug trade is developing - is in the nature of this bust ! It did not contain any Marijuana. That is now almost semi legal and no longer worth the allocation of police resources to seriously dent supply. The Australian drug scene revolves around "Ecstacy "and "Ice "- and for the drug distributors - that is where the money is to be made.
When push comes to shove, the basic principle of commerce comes into play. Wherever there is demand, supply will inevitably follow. The never ending war on drugs will continue as long as the citizens crave their "high "on the party scene !
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