Syringes preloaded with drugs as new ‘drug den’ emerges in St Kilda carpark

Syringes preloaded with ice and heroin are being sold on a St Kilda street for as little as $10. Terrified neighbours, already struggling with a new “drug den” in a nearby carpark, are demanding immediate police action.

Drug paraphernalia dumped in a stairwell on Fitzroy St, St Kilda. Picture Norm Oorloff

Ready-to-use syringes loaded with ice and heroin are being sold in one of St Kilda’s seediest streets for just $10 and $15.

The dealers are selling the cheap-as-chips convenience drug packs every morning outside Fitzroy St’s 7-Eleven.

And a new “drug den” has also emerged in a nearby apartment block.

Angry residents of 64 Fitzroy St say their stairwell and carpark is now the site of blatant drug deals, dozens of discarded syringes and drug paraphernalia, and drug-users shooting up in front of families.

The spike in drug use, dealing and crime is bringing hordes of “walking dead” to the area, Port Phillip councillor and nearby resident Andrew Bond said.

Preloaded syringes are being sold outside the 7-eleven on Fitzroy St.

Locals were furious, and traders were “ready to pull the pin” as a result, Cr Bond said.

“This is a whole new level of dealing that is occurring, and over the last two weeks, it’s as bad as we’ve ever seen it,” Mr Bond said.

“The walking dead have escalated and it needs to become a priority, but police are just badly undermanned and can’t stamp this out,” he said.

Residents of the apartment block — who have been forced to foot the $3000 bill for security patrols and forensic cleaning there — say police and Port Phillip Council have wiped their hands of it.

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Scott McDonnell has lived in the apartment complex for three years, but said problems had spiralled out of control in recent months due to the surge in ice use and associated violence.
He said people were shooting up in front of security cameras, and said he even witnessed an elderly woman abused last week by an “off-their-face druggie” when she confronted him.

“She was just trying to offer him help but he started screaming at her and threw stuff at her. I just don’t know where it’s going to stop,” Mr McDonnell said.

Dumped needles are a common sight around Fitzroy, particularly in the new “drug den” at number 64. Picture: Norm Oorloff

“We have become prisoners in our own home and … people are so angry and fed up, they’re going to start taking matters into their own hands.

Mr McDonnell said there was no point in moving the drug users elsewhere and wants them sent to an institution to get help.

“All these people care about is getting a needle in their arm so we need to take the hard line approach,” he said.

“It’s not a homeless issue, it’s a drug issue and this is society’s problem to deal with, not ours.”

Port Phillip mayor Dick Gross said the council had asked police to increase monitoring of the area, instructed the apartment block’s body corporate to immediately clean up the site, and would issue a notice if nothing was done.

“Council’s local laws officers have been carrying out joint patrols with police along the length of Fitzroy Street (but) … police are responsible for responding to incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour,” Cr Gross said.

Port Phillip Inspector Nigel Maguire White said police had stepped up patrols and were targeting drug dealers with uniform and specialist units.

“We’ve had nine extra officers come to Port Phillip in recent years to allow us to provide a dynamic and flexible approach,” Insp Maguire White said.

He said drug offences had also gone down by 10 per cent last year, with arrests continuing to drop.