Victorian heroin dealers: Suburbs with most dealing of drug revealed
An inner-Melbourne suburb — home to Victoria’s only safe injecting room — is the state’s heroin dealing hotspot. But dealers and users of the highly-addictive drug aren’t just sticking close to the city. SEE THE FULL LIST OF HOTSPOTS
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An inner city suburb – home to Victoria’s most controversial injecting room – has been revealed as a hotspot for heroin dealers and users.
The latest Crime Statistics Agency data in the year to March reveals Richmond as having the state’s most heroin drug dealing and trafficking offences at 80, Melbourne (38) came in second, while Abbotsford (31), came in third.
Other suburbs that made the top 10 include St Albans (16), Maribyrnong (12), Braybrook (11),
Keysborough (11), Dandenong (11), Croydon (10) and Noble Park (9).
It comes as furious residents have complained for months about the controversial North Richmond supervised injecting room.
Last month, drug users were seen injecting in the streets at all hours and were failing to wear masks or abide by social distancing measures.
In February, nearby traders also called for the injecting to be shut down, saying it attracted more dealers and users, making the neighbourhood a virtual no-go zone for visitors, diners and shoppers.
The crime-riddled suburb also took the top spot the previous year with 121 offences,
St Albans (58) and Melbourne’s CBD (5).
Data also obtained by Leader reveals Richmond as having the most heroin users with drug use and possession offences 125, St Albans (70) and Melbourne’s CBD (67).
Melbourne University alcohol and drug policy expert Associate Professor John Fitzgerald said injecting rooms had played a very important role in “saving lives”.
“We need to think carefully and thoughtfully on the next stage and we’ve got an opportunity to do some really good work,” Assoc Prof Fitzgerald said.
He said dealers had adapted to peddling drugs in the pandemic.
“Just as we’re adapting, so are the drug markets under COVID-19 and this is occurring all around the world, don’t think for an instance that the drug market has gone asleep.”
A Victoria Police spokesman said while drug use in the Victorian community continued to be a significant concern for police, both in rural and metropolitan areas, an increase in the detection of offences such as drug use and possession was actually considered a positive result.
“With more police in the community than ever before, Victoria Police has the resources to detect criminal offences such as drug use and possession, which may have previously gone undetected and this is reflected in the statistics,” the spokesman said.
“It is also important to remember the postcodes attached to each offence are where the offence is detected and not where the offender resides, while a number of postcodes with higher numbers of drug-related offences also have a significant number of licensed premises.”
The spokesman said police were committed to the pillars of drug harm minimisation – those being prevention, treatment, reducing harm and reducing supply.
“Victoria Police has zero tolerance for drug traffickers, especially those who prey on the vulnerable. In order to drive down the harm caused by drugs in our communities.
“This includes work on a localised level with Divisional Response Units and Crime Investigation Units, right up to the state and international level with Victoria Police’s Drug Taskforce and the Melbourne-based Joint Organised Crime Task Force (JOCTF) led by the AFP and including Victoria Police, Australian Border Force and the Australian Crime Intelligence Commission.”
He said coronavirus restrictions had also meant police were more readily able to identify suspicious or illegal activity in the community, leading to detections of drug related offending on Victoria’s streets.
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