SA cannabis trade fuelling imports of ‘evil drug’ fantasy
South Australia’s high-grade cannabis is driving a cross-border drug racket with dealers swapping their hydroponic crops for meth. Meanwhile, an “evil drug” has re-emerged.
Police & Courts
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South Australian organised crime groups are swapping potent hydroponically-grown marijuana for methamphetamine and ecstasy with counterparts across the border.
Senior police have also revealed the use of “evil drug” fantasy has spiked with numerous overdoses and increased seizures in the past six months.
Stephen Taylor, officer in charge of Serious and Organised Crime Branch, said SA is renowned as the cannabis capital of Australia.
“What we see is, because (cannabis) produced here is quite high grade, it goes national, particularly on the Eastern seaboard where it fetches a higher price,” Mr Taylor said.
“A lot of that is converted back into amphetamine-type drugs that comes back into the state. We see it back as methamphetamine, sometimes as ecstasy.
“It’s a money spinner. If you look at it as a business, that’s the way we see it and the way (criminal organisations) structure their enterprise.”
Last month, more than 160kg of cannabis and cocaine worth $1.5m was seized from a Port Adelaide warehouse.
Police allege an interstate truck driver was going to use his essential worker status to traffic the cache across the country. Three men were arrested.
Detective Chief Inspector Darren Fielke said crime organisations are spamming mail, road and cargo consignments with a higher volume of smaller drug packages to protect their investments – and beat tighter border restrictions in place to halt the spread of COVID-19.
“They’ve still got to get it to here (and) criminals have become very resourceful at that,” Mr Fielke said.
“We know trucks are still coming into SA. It’s got harder, it’s not to say it’s not happening, but it’s more difficult.
“We are picking up border detections of amounts of drugs and other chemicals.”
Det Insp Fielke said police were aware drug prices had jumped in SA following the pandemic.
He said an increase in the popularity of fantasy could indicate users were unable to source their preferred drugs of choice, while importers brainstormed new infiltration strategies.
“From a street level, it would be fair to say street prices have gone up. That is purely a supply and demand issue. Demand is still there, supply has backed off to a point,” he said.
“We’ve always known (fantasy) was out there, (but) some of the size of the seizures have put it more on the radar for us.
“It’s not something made in a lab, it comes in a bottle ready to go.”
The liquid drug is made up of chemicals called gamma butyrolactone or 1,4-butanediol, and can be purchased from dealers for less than $20 per dose.
The chemicals used to produce fantasy have legitimate use in industry and can be imported into Australia legally.
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“(It’s) a very toxic, very dangerous drug with severe side effects including coma and death,” Mr Taylor said.
“It’s been around for a long time, close to 20 years. And like all products it ebbs and flow, but at the moment we’re seeing it’s on the flowing side of things.”
The dangers of fantasy come with its minute dosing, with hits of clear liquid between 1ml and 2ml enough to bring on tremors, nausea and diarrhoea, before serious complication. The drug slows down the messages travelling between the brain and body and can bring on feelings of euphoria.
An Adelaide drug user with ties to a substance wholesaler told the Sunday Mail demand for ecstasy, cocaine, cannabis and ice “skyrocketed” during lockdown.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, he said cocaine and ecstasy prices crept higher because of long periods without consistent supply.
“They say coke is a drug for wealthy people but even they have been struggling with paying between $400 and $450 for a gram,” he said.
“And that’s if it’s even good, a lot of stuff is being cut down because sellers can’t be sure when they’ll come across it again.
“It’s funny in a way because everyone is paying through the nose for whatever they can get their hands on.”