Supply and demand – how COVID has changed South Australia’s illict drugs market

The pandemic has had an effect on every aspect of society - including the illegal drugs market. SA Police reveal the trends that have got them most worried.

The supply of drugs into South Australia, including our “most problematic”, has slowed during the coronavirus pandemic – but done little to reduce demand, senior police say.

And the state’s top drug cop is urging the public to help detectives disrupt the drug and organised crime trade after uncovering one of the state’s biggest ever labs.

Serious and Organised Crime Branch officer-in-charge Superintendent Stephen Taylor told The Advertiser methamphetamine prices had doubled during coronavirus as demand remained high.

He said police had seized between $4m and $5m cash in the past six months from organised crime groups trafficking cannabis to the eastern states in return for methamphetamine, which he described as “probably our most problematic drug of all”.

“We’ve been quite successful in interrupting that supply chain, so that is a positive but the demand is always high for methamphetamine unfortunately,” Superintendent Taylor said.

“That can be for a variety of reasons including people’s inability to move within states freely, overseas trade and also some pretty significant seizures we’ve had over the past few months.

“There has been a slight increase in cocaine use in South Australia but prices have remained relatively stable. MDMA or ecstasy has probably seen a reduction if anything.”

Detective Superintendent Stephen Taylor from the Serious and Organised Crime Branch says the price of methamphetamines has doubled during the pandemic. Photo: Roy Van Der Vegt

Superintendent Taylor said cannabis consumption had increased as a result of the SA market and the ease of obtaining and growing the drug, which had remained relatively stable in price.

He said while cannabis was considered “probably the safest drug” there was strong scientific evidence showing it led to harder drugs and psychological problems.

“People end up having all sorts of meltdowns from taking cannabis – psychosis – and most of these things are irreversible down the track,” Superintendent Taylor said.

“Although people might think they are smoking cannabis, the cannabis of today – the THC content – is so much higher than it was two or three decades ago. There’s no comparison.”

Superintendent Taylor said drug manufacturing in SA had remained stable. He said police had dismantled about 25 drug labs so far this financial year.

However, four of those were found in an 11-day period between August 13 and 24 at Parkside, Netley, Morphett Vale and Happy Valley.

Police described the Morphett Vale lab – capable of producing 120kg of methamphetamine or 90,000 street doses a week – as “one of the biggest police we’ve seen for many years”.

About $4 million of methamphetamine oil awaiting the final stage of production to be crystallised was uncovered on Cocks Avenue on August 18.

“One of our main objectives is to dismantle organised crime but where we can’t dismantle we disrupt as much as possible,” Superintendent Taylor said.

“Although illicit drugs are an unfortunate inevitability now in society we shouldn’t accept it and where there’s an opportunity to intervene we should.

“If you see anything or hear anything about illicit drugs don’t sit back and be a bystander. Get involved and contact the police and let us do something about it.”