Apr 09 2008
Drugs flood warning
THE Italian mafia has joined forces with Dutch and Chinese criminals to flood Australia with ecstasy, in a global crime alliance not seen here since the 1980s.
Dutch authorities have warned their Australian counterparts that tonnes of ecstasy pills are arriving by container at various ports, because we lead world demand for the drug.
The Netherlands-based elite Synthetic Drugs Unit, which co-ordinates the international fight against illicit substances, said criminals had formed multi-national alliances to serve the high demand and high returns available here.
The Dutch have just closed their anti-drugs bureau in Miami in favour of posting a police officer to Canberra to liaise directly with the Australian Federal Police.
Cees van Spierenburg, the public prosecutor who runs their Synthetic Drugs Unit, said intelligence had uncovered plans for mass shipments of drugs for Australia, and warned: “We are talking about millions of tablets.
“It’s a question of supply and demand. Organised crime groups are trying to earn as much money as easily and quickly as possible.
“So if you are able to sell a tablet for $20 or more and it costs you a quarter of a euro dollar to produce, you really can make a lot of money.”
The drugs are also made to order, down to their weight and even the local logos stamped on them, by order of Australian underworld chiefs.
Mr van Spierenburg said his officers had found the Chinese were sending chemical ingredients to the Netherlands to convert into drugs.
The finished product was driven to ports across Europe, particularly Italy, for export to Australia.
“The mafia is now the intermediary in the exportation to Australia,” he said.
The mafia used its extensive network of contacts to ensure the movements remained undetected. The direct involvement of the Italians is significant, because they have not been a strong feature of the Australian crime scene for more than two decades.
The Synthetic Drugs Unit has also found evidence that Chinese criminals are exporting the chemicals direct to Australia for local mass production of ecstasy.
They usually arrive in sea containers, disguised as shipments of goods such as soy sauce. A scattergun approach is suspected, where dozens of containers are shipped to various ports particularly along the east coast, in the anticipation that some will be found but others won’t.
Mr van Spierenberg said: “It’s like the cocaine swallowers. You can have 30 drug couriers who have swallowed cocaine arriving on one plane.
“But we only have the capacity to find three or four of them, so you take the risk and some get through.”
Drugs flood warning - Charles Miranda - April 10, 2008 12:00am - http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23514284-662,00.html
