‘More dangerous than GHB’: government to crackdown on criminals who import ‘legal’ drug
This cheap and deadly party drug is linked to overdoses, drink-spiking and sexual assaults but criminals are getting it in the country legally. So how can it be stopped?
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Authorities have moved to smash criminal gangs exploiting a legal loophole to import a deadly party drug.
“Bute” — also known as Liquid Fantasy — can be imported for industrial purposes despite being linked to overdoses, drink-spiking and sexual assaults.
But the State Government has revealed it’s now pushing the Commonwealth for an outright ban.
Acting Supt Craig Darlow of Victoria Police’s Organised Crime Division told the Sunday Herald Sun Bute, technically known as 1,4 Butanediol, was hugely dangerous.
It was commonly peddled in soy sauce fish bottles and especially popular because it was cheap.
“Offenders import the drug as an industrial product then sell it at enormous profit but also with enormous community harm,” Acting Supt Darlow said.
“The drug has become extremely popular among criminal syndicates because of the opportunity to buy it cheaply then traffic at a massive profit.”
County Court Judge Gabriele Cannon in this month sentencing a 28-year-old Chinese national to 30 months’ jail for trafficking more than 10kg of Bute highlighted the loophole allowing it into Australia.
“I understand that this substance is not a border controlled drug and so it is not illegal to import it, as such,’’ Judge Cannon told the court.
The State Government in March introduced toughened sentencing laws meaning crooks dealing 20kg of drugs face life imprisonment.
It was now lobbying for a broad import ban on Bute.
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“(The Commonwealth) need to take the required action to prevent this dangerous material being imported by drug dealing syndicates,” a government spokesperson said.
Acting Supt Darlow said Bute was often mistaken as GHB but more dangerous.
“The drug can be unpredictable and because it works more slowly than the similar GHB, users are at risk of overdosing because they are likely to take a second or third dose,” Acting Supt Darlow said.
“The difference between survival and a fatal overdose can be very small.”