Sydney drug epidemic presents horrific scenes played out daily near children

SHOCKING images of ­addicts brazenly shooting up and doing dope deals in broad daylight have horrified authorities, who admit the drug problem is out of control.

This addict in tracksuit and thongs sat down on the kerb in a laneway in Surry Hills and spent 10 minutes trying to find a vein. Picture: John Grainger

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SHOCKING images of ­addicts brazenly shooting up and doing dope deals in broad daylight have “horrified” authorities, who admit the drug problem is out of control and they are unsure how to solve the crisis.

A special investigation by The Daily Telegraph can reveal just how frightening the problem across Sydney has become, with shameless ­addicts even blatantly exchanging narcotics in front of toddlers and daycare centres.

In one case caught on camera, a man plunged a needle into his arm as workers rushed to their jobs around him on a busy Surry Hills street.

The dishevelled man makes no attempt to hide his actions from passers-by. Picture: John Grainger

The middle-aged male spent about 10 minutes jabbing himself in different areas as he tried to find the right vein.

And in a sign of how indifferent the city has become to the issue, passers-by barely noticed the shocking scene as it unfolded at 8.51am.

Oblivious to passers-by, the man injects himself in the gutter. Picture: John Grainger

“At 9am, in broad daylight, people should feel safe to walk their children to school, or get to work without being confronted with such a horrific scene,” Police Minister Troy Grant yesterday conceded to The Daily Telegraph after he was confronted with the pictures.

A deal goes down at a block of apartments in Waterloo. Picture: John Grainger

This man used his third-floor balcony to drop a tiny package into the hands of a customer at the same location. Picture: John Grainger

“These ­images are distressing, disturbing and above all, very disappointing.”

In another shocking case witnessed by The Daily Telegraph, a woman from a Waterloo public housing block exchanged a rolled package in the middle of the morning with a man looking after a toddler.

A man in the same public housing block was also caught dropping a drug parcel to a customer from his third-storey balcony.

Mr Grant said the brutal reality was Sydney’s drug problem was so entrenched it couldn’t “arrest” its way out of the crisis.

“This Government is investing heavily in programs to tackle drug misuse in our communities,” he said.

“Regrettably, as the photographs show, we still have a long way to go in our fight against drugs.” Mr Grant said about $200 million was being spent this financial year for drug and alcohol services across the state.

Opposition police spokesman Guy Zangari said it was “totally unacceptable” that drugs were openly being taken on the street. He feared for schoolchildren being exposed to the criminal activity.

The James Cook units dominates its Redfern setting. Picture: John Grainger

The Lois Barker child care centre is about 50m from the James Cook building.

“People shooting up in broad daylight is just a shock, it’s horrific,” he said.

“No one deserves to be exposed to that, anywhere. What type of society do we live in where this is accepted as the norm?”

In other cases, two man were witnessed sharing a syringe outside Central Station. And in Kings Cross two men dealt drugs just ­metres from a busy footpath.

Redfern police, who have jurisdiction over Waterloo, told The Daily Telegraph they have already done 10 covert drug busts and arrested 181 people this year.

“These photographs show a total lack of respect or regard for members of the community including its most vulnerable, the children,” Redfern Local Area Commander Luke Freudenstein said.

Driven by greed and self-interest, dealers were making money off the addiction and despair of others, he said.

In total, a staggering 130,000 drug arrests and more than 100,000 drug seizures were made in NSW last year.

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In January, The Saturday Telegraph revealed how the NSW Crime Commission had made the startling admission that the war on drugs across Sydney had been lost.

It warned drug supplies were up, prices were down and the deadly trade was being spearheaded by as many as 607 individual crime bosses.

The Commission also said recent raids have “had little, if any, ­effect” on the amount of illicit drugs on our streets. And overseas dealers targeting Australia were also escaping prosecution easily.

Alcohol and Drug Foundation chief executive John Rogerson said people often ­become dependent on drugs after painful experiences.

He said it was time to have an ­important conversation about decriminalisation of drugs.

Alcohol and Drug Service: 9361 8000