Victoria Police crackdown on drugs with secret hit list of Melbourne nightclubs
EXCLUSIVE: A secret hit list of 30 nightclubs is under watch for drug and alcohol breaches as police unleash more “clubbing cops” and sniffer dogs to clean up Melbourne’s night-life.
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EXCLUSIVE: A secret hit list of 30 nightclubs is under watch for drug and alcohol breaches as police unleash more “clubbing cops” and sniffer dogs to clean up Melbourne’s night-life.
Police admit dancefloor drugs — GHB, ecstasy, cocaine and speed — are being consumed more now than five years ago, prompting a co-ordinated assault on party haven Chapel St, which hosts 30,000 partygoers most weekends.
Among the crowds of party animals, police are swarming venues along the notorious strip and its surrounds. They will even be using taxis, Uber cars and bylaw officers as part of the blitz.
The staggered police operation was triggered after three people died and more than 20 were taken to hospital with suspected overdoses after partying at Chapel St in January. Five of those taken to hospital had attended Revolver Upstairs.
Top brass has warned extra police resources are needed to bust open the underground drug network and to save lives.
Sen-Sgt Martin Bourke, of Prahran police, said sniffer dogs would be walked along queues of licensed Chapel St venues in an attempt to stop some drugs heading into venues.
He said police would be ready to pounce on those jumping from lines to avoid being caught.
“It’s a bit like a booze bus where you have police waiting for people to turn down side streets,” he said.
“When you see people dying you think that’s enough to warn kids to stay off it but they are still experimenting ... as much as ever.”
Victoria Police statistics show drug use and possession continues to rise with 24,594 caught in 2016 — a 6.4 per cent increase on the year before.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal police are currently investigating up to 30 licensed venues over alcohol and drug issues. Police are hand-picking “clubbing cops” who are aged 18 to 25 and sending them in to catch dealers, users and to gather intelligence. Sen-Sgt Dave Sheppard, of Taskforce Razon — a unit tasked with enforcing tough licensing laws and doing surveillance — said toilets, a drug taker’s mecca, would also be patrolled.
He said drugs were now a lot “more in your face” and during a single night, undercover cops would be asked several times “do you want to buy drugs, do you want to buy drugs”.
Sen-Sgt Sheppard said some clubs were also questioned as to why more water was being sold than alcohol.
“They just say that’s the way it is and brush it off,” he said.
“You don’t have to be blind Freddy to know what’s going on — cleaning up at the ending the night you find deal bags on the floor. It’s pretty obvious what’s going on.”
Sen-Sgt Sheppard said “resources were always an issue” but there were competing demands.
“The more police you throw at anything you will go a long way to solving the problem but we have finite resources,” he said.
“Liquor licensing is one small slice of the pie — we have family violence, we have high-volume crime, we have aggravated burglary and you have youth crime.”
As police continue to weed out drugs from licensed venues, music and dance festivals are adding to their workload, as well as overstretched paramedics. More than 20 people were hospitalised, many in a critical condition, and a further 25 treated, after overdosing GHB at the Electric Parade music festival at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in February.