Pubdate: Thu, 08 Mar 2001
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Copyright: 2001 The Sydney Morning Herald
Contact:  GPO Box 3771, Sydney NSW 2001
Fax: 61-(0)2-9282 3492
Website: http://www.smh.com.au/
Forum: http://forums.fairfax.com.au/
Author: Stephen Gibbs

WAR ON HEROIN HAS MOVED ON, SAY POLICE

Police have said there is less heroin on Sydney's streets than at any 
other recent time, describing Australian Bureau of Criminal 
Intelligence information to the contrary as outdated.

A bureau report released on Tuesday stated heroin in Sydney was now 
cheaper, purer and more freely available than ever, and confirmed 
Cabramatta was still "the most active centre for heroin distribution".

However, Detective Superintendent Ken McKay of the drug trafficking 
and production unit of Crime Agencies said the report referred to the 
year to July 2000 and the war on heroin had "moved on significantly" 
since then.

"That report was a snapshot of a time when heroin was purer and more 
available in NSW than is the case today," Superintendent McKay said. 
"The most up-to-date [undisclosed] ABCI information is that the price 
of heroin had doubled since then."

The bureau had reported only small quantities of heroin being seized 
and stated that cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines were also freely 
available in Sydney.

Sydney was the heroin capital of Australia, and Cabramatta the heroin 
capital of Sydney. The report also warned that a production boom in 
Afghanistan which started in 1999 could lead to a flood of heroin on 
Sydney's streets.

Superintendent McKay said that while heroin was still a significant 
problem in Sydney, there had been a substantial reduction in 
availability.

"What we have seen is probably since about September last year a 
drastic reduction in availability of heroin which impacts on pricing 
and the quality levels of that drug," he said.

Asked if police were seeing their best results in tackling the heroin 
problem, Superintendent McKay said: "As far as availability, yes.

"Probably since Christmas there has been a drastic reduction in the 
availability right throughout Sydney which then in turn translates to 
other States in Australia.

"This is largely due to a program of vigorous, intelligence-driven 
enforcement which has made the drug harder to procure."

Prices had more than doubled and purity had significantly decreased 
from the 60 per cent cited by the bureau. And while some heroin 
addicts had apparently shifted to using other drugs, many had sought 
rehabilitation.

Superintendent McKay said police did not have evidence that cocaine 
was becoming a major problem at Cabramatta. Heroin from Afghanistan 
had been seized in small quantities in other States but was not 
appearing in NSW.
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