Victoria seizes over 233kg of cocaine in 2009–10

The Australian Crime Commission’s (ACC) newly released Illicit Drug Data Report 2009–10 reveals that Victoria accounted for 59 per cent (233.64kg) of national cocaine seizures by weight

According to the report, the average cost of one gram of cocaine in Victoria is inline with the national average at $300, however, this is high in comparison to the United States where the average cost is A$130.

“Australia has proven to be an attractive market for illicit drugs which often provides a high return on investment for drug suppliers and traffickers,” ACC Chief Executive Officer John Lawler said.

“Organised criminals can achieve profit mark-ups of more than 6100 per cent compared with the wholesale cocaine price in Mexico, which is the source country for much of the cocaine in Australia.

“We consider the use of cocaine in Australia as directly supporting the ruthless Mexican cartels who are seeking this profit, and have been responsible for more than 35 000 murders since 2006.

“Illicit drug use can cause serious injury and disease, lead to unemployment, destroy relationships and damage families, and is a primary driver of organised criminal profit.

“If we want to track and stop these criminals we must understand their market. This report continues to be a major tool in our efforts to address the drug trade and provides government, law enforcement and other stakeholders with a national and jurisdictional picture of the illicit drug market.”

Mr Lawler launched the 8th edition of the ACC’s Illicit Drug Data Report 2009–10 at the Royal Perth Hospital today with burns specialist Dr Fiona Wood and Western Australia Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan.

Victorian statistics are drawn from data provided by Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and Customs and Border Protection.

A copy of the report is available at www.crimecommission.gov.au.

Key findings from Illicit Drug Data Report 2009–10:

• Over 85 000 illicit drug related arrests were made in 2009–10 — the highest in the last decade.
• Drug types that recorded the most substantial increase in arrests over the last decade are cocaine and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), increasing by 91 per cent and 58 per cent respectively.
• The 63 670 national illicit drug seizures in 2009–10 is the second highest reported in the last decade.
• Over 7.8 tonnes of illicit drugs were seized nationally in 2009–10.
• A record 694 clandestine laboratories were detected — an increase of 55 per cent from 2008–09 and 245 per cent since 2000–01.

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