Bendigo emerges as Victoria’s meth trafficking capital

A new meth capital has been declared in Victoria, with Bendigo topping the cities of Melbourne and Shepparton for the first time in years.

Bendigo has become the state’s biggest hotspot for meth trafficking, new data has revealed.

New data released by the Crime Statistics Agency last month revealed Greater Bendigo experienced a massive spike in meth trafficking, with offences recorded in the past 12 months reaching a 10-year high.

The number of meth trafficking offences increased from 16 in 2023 to 153 this past year, making up 22 per cent of the region’s total drug crime.

According to the data, Bendigo had the most meth trafficking offences in the state, surpassing the City of Melbourne and Shepparton which have traditionally held top spots.

Instead, those local government areas experienced a drop in meth trafficking offences.

Total drug trafficking rose by 353 per cent in Bendigo, with the suburb of Strathdale recording 128 of the city’s 204 offences.

The scourge is leaving local treatment bodies struggling to plug holes left by a significant shortage of health services.

Since July last year, the Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service at the Bendigo Salvation Army has treated more than 650 clients in non-residential rehab programs for a variety of substances.

AOD intensive services manager Renato Angelo told the Herald Sun rehab clients faced “massive barriers” in regional areas due to a shortage of services, including bulk billing GPs and psychologists.

“There’s certain legwork that needs to be done to get clients into rehab, like health summaries, getting prescriptions in order, having blood tests and liver function tests, urine drug screen scripts but we cannot do this without GPs,” he said.

“So if it’s hard to access the GP or if clients don’t have money to access GPs that don’t bulk bill, it’s a massive barrier.

“If you’re lucky enough to find a clinic that does bulk billing, they tend to not be taking on new patients.

“So if we need a client to go and access medication, for example, they’ve got two options: They either go on a waitlist to access a GP, or they have to go to a clinic that isn’t bulk billing.”

Mr Angelo said while free psychology services could be accessed through a GP’s mental health plan, the process was a difficult one.

“They can access a mental health care plan through the GP if they can get in, but then they need to go on a waitlist to access the free psychology and the waitlist for that is so long there’s almost no point,” he said.

The amount of meth trafficking offences increased significantly in Bendigo in the last 12 months.

Despite meth trafficking being on the decline in recent years, it still remains one of the most common drug offences in Victoria.

Nearly 1300 meth trafficking offences were recorded across the state in the past year, compared to only 615 cannabis and 372 cocaine offences.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said meth was a “significant driver of crime across the state”.

“For this reason, detectives within the Bendigo Divisional Response Unit and Crime Investigation Unit are dedicated to tracking down and prosecuting those involved in the production and distribution of illicit drugs,” they said.

“This includes targeting drug traffickers responsible for distributing illicit drugs that cause the most harm in our community.

“We understand that illicit drug use can act as a springboard to more serious criminal behaviour, which can have devastating consequences in our community.

“No area, including Bendigo, is exempt from the harmful effects of drug use. Police will continue to work tirelessly to keep illicit drugs including methylamphetamine off our streets.”

Bendigo mayor Andrea Metcalf and the council were contacted for comment but said questions around drug use were better directed to Victoria Police and health authorities.