Cocaine trade is stuck in transit
CRIMINALS are waging a fierce bidding war for “investors” who can help traffic drugs and guns as the coronavirus hampers transport globally, which is in turn forcing the price of cocaine to more than double.
Those are the findings of a national law enforcement intelligence snapshot that points to a dramatic shift in the way crime groups are operating, with rivalries set aside in favour of “common enterprise”.
A year ago a gram of cocaine was worth $350 but it is now up to $750 for the highest grade, according to an internal report compiled by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Federal Police and state police counterparts.
Similar price hikes are being reported for street-level MDMA (ecstasy), crystal methamphetamine (ice) and ketamine.
Officers said demand for illicit drugs in Australia and the price Aussies were prepared to pay remained high, but ramped up border security, travel restrictions due to COVID-19 and a swath of big busts had contributed to dwindling supply and a doubling of prices.
Police have noted that exclusively ethnic-based crime groups are now working together, notably Chinese and Lebanese criminals, here and in their home countries.
These alliances have been enabled in part by encrypted devices and apps through which criminals seek likeminded partners to traffic goods.
“In terms of the way importations work, it’s no longer clear cut and yes, you do have organised crime syndicates who do work specifically together, close-knit, to import drugs, but a lot of the times with encrypted devices now there can be communications that go over these devices which may send a message out to a number of organised crime groups, bidding for investors in terms of who would like to be involved in importation,” a senior intelligence law enforcer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He said the appetite and use of cocaine remained extremely high in Australia, which pointed to the likelihood of significant stockpiles.
Authorities fear that as the availability of drugs dries up, cocaine in particular is likely to be cut with foreign agents to boost volumes.
The typical agent of choice is Levamisole – usually used to treat parasitic worms in animals.
Although crime groups have been hampered by the coronavirus-related slowdown of the global air and shipping trade, there has been a notable increase in gun parts and drugs detected and seized in mail centres across the country.