Warning for partygoers planning a cocaine-fuelled “white” Christmas

A cancer-causing drug pulled off shelves in the 1980s has been found mixed in with cocaine being imported into Australia.

A cancer-causing drug pulled off shelves in the 1980s is being mixed with cocaine being shipped into Australia, in a warning for partygoers planning a “white Christmas”.

Phenacetin was a common ingredient of the one-time headache relieving drug Bex but was banned worldwide almost 40 years ago after its links to deadly cancer and kidney problems were discovered by an Australian-based doctor.

But the banned substance has made a return this year, with the Australian Federal Police finding traces of it in the more than 450kg of the drug it has seized this year before it could reach NSW.

Cocaine seized in Australia is testing positive for dangerous animal worming agents and a pharmaceutical that was withdrawn decades ago for safety reasons

In addition to Phenacetin, traces of Levamisole — a worming agent used on animals — has also shown up as drug dealers add in additional substances to “cut” down the purity of cocaine and boost their profits.

“Drugs are often cut to a low purity using a range of potent chemicals and fillers,’’ AFP Forensic Operations commander Paula Hudson said.

“Phenacetin – a drug that is banned in most countries because it causes cancer and damages kidneys – is also being added to cocaine in a bid to boost the profits of illicit drug dealers.”

“Levamisole, an animal worming agent that can cause serious skin infections in humans, is often detected in cocaine, which is mainly produced in the Americas.”

Australia’s hunger for cocaine sees an estimated 5.6 tonnes of the drug consumed annually across the country.

More than 450 kilograms of cocaine smuggled into Australia in all different ways has been seized by the AFP so far this year. Picture: AFP

That level of demand is an increase of 80 per cent over the past five years with production in South America – in particular the cocaine heartlands of Colombia and Peru – jumping by 50 per cent to match.

With the Christmas party season expected to be busy after a year affected by lockdown, doctors are warning the impact of dangerous mixed-in substances can be severe.

Kidney Health Australia clinical director Professor Karen Dwyer said: “Phenacetin was part of Bex powder and there was an ad at one point that was ‘take a Bex and go lie down’ and it was an active ingredient in that.”

“Professor Priscilla Kincaid-Smith made the link in the 1960s between people presenting with kidney failure and taking lots of Bex powder, and therefore Phenacetin.

“My message is to understand that if it’s part of cocaine … it can be causing damage that you just don’t know about.

A total of 1.12 tonnes of cocaine has been seized by police across Australia so far in 2021.