Cocaine becoming more widely used and demand expected to rise

Aussies pay the highest prices for cocaine in the world, and authorities have revealed what will happen when huge shipments of the drug hit Australia.

It is considered the drug of choice among wealthy professionals, sport stars and socialities.

But drug authorities are warning of an alarming trend of cocaine now being used more widely with an increasing number of meth users now snorting the white powder.

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) acting national manager (data analytics) Shane Neilson said a street deal of cocaine currently costs less than a street deal of methylamphetamine, “even though far more methylamphetamine is consumed in Australia”

“The popular conception of cocaine users is that they are wealthy professional persons in the large cities or high profile sportspeople and socialites,” Mr Neilson said.

“The reality is that for some time now the cocaine user demographic has been far broader than this, including relatively young employed Australians on a range of incomes.

“There is also a segment of the cocaine-using population who are socially disadvantaged,” Mr Neilson said.

Authorities believe there is unmet demand for cocaine in Australia.

Authorities fear its broader use will lead to organised crime gangs flooding our streets with cocaine in a bid to fill the “unmet demand for cocaine in Australia”.

The median price of a gram of cocaine in Australia was around $400 – but that was influenced by a range of factors, including location.

In Sydney and Melbourne, for example, a gram of cocaine could be between $300-350.

According to the Australian Drugs Trend report the price of a gram of methamphetamine has recently been as high as $475.

The ACIC believe there was still more demand for cocaine in Australia, despite intelligence reports suggesting most users only used the drug occasionally.

Wastewater testing showed cocaine use has been increasing over the past year but the ACIC doubts it has reached the level it was in 2019

Large shipments of cocaine have been discovered at Australian ports. Source: Australian Federal Police

“If there is an increase in successful importations of cocaine, consumption of the drug

will increase as we assess there is unmet demand for cocaine in Australia,” Mr Neilson said.

The wholesale prices of cocaine varied considerably across Australia but in the larger markets during 2023, prices have generally been around $200,000 to $220,000 per kilogram – although they have been as low as $160,000 per kilogram.

“There has been reporting of lower and higher prices in different states, which is not unusual as wholesale prices represent the price paid by one crime group to another and illicit drug markets are neither regulated nor stable – they are subject to the control of criminal entities.”

But cheaper wholesale prices had little impact on cocaine use as crime groups justified importing large quantities by the huge profits they were making.

Mr Neilson said crime groups profited by up to $150,000 per kilogram just getting cocaine into the country – with another $100,000 shared as domestic suppliers take a cut of the prices.

Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) spokesman Paul Dillon said Australians relationship with cocaine was bizarre.

\Paul Dillon from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training.

Drugs like cocaine are a lucrative business for organised crime groups. Picture: Victoria Police

“For some reason there has always been this high demand for cocaine,” Mr Dillon said.

“We have quite high rates of use when you compare it to other parts of the world – even when we had some of the poorest quality cocaine in the world at some of the most expensive prices,” he said.

“From a smugglers perspective, it didn’t matter if 10 containers of drugs were discovered at the border. Because the reality is they’ve made so much off the other 100 that have come in.”

A joint US and Australian operation busted an international drug ring in March after 2.4 tonnes of cocaine was intercepted aboard a vessel bound for Australia with a street value of about $1 billion.