Huge Profits Ensure That New Traffickers Are Always Ready to Fill Any Gaps. THE report by The Age and Four Corners on a major drugs bust (code-named Operation Hoffman) by state police forces under the direction of the Australian Crime Commission was a cracking story. A fascinating cast of goodies and baddies was set against the background of a global drugs distribution chain, which was broken by following the money trail. The conclusion was that even with regular disruptions to the supply chain and the operators being given heavy jail sentences, the extremely high profits are more than enough to ensure that new drug rings will step into the breach. [continues 736 words]
OF THE Australian states, Queensland and Western Australia have by far the highest rate of incarceration. And yet, despite the huge cost of keeping convicted criminals in prison, if the emphasis on law and order in the election campaigns in both states is any guide, the electorate's hunger for retribution is far from satiated in either state. Why? There is no doubt that crime stories, particularly violent and bizarre crime stories, sell more newspapers and attract larger audiences for radio and TV than do stories on the economy. [continues 619 words]
