Sydney confirmed as Australia’s coke capital

Sin City has lived up to its name in a landmark new report that exposes Australia’s soaring drug use.

Sydney is Australia’s cocaine capital but the party stopped this year, with some of the lowest levels of use recorded, according to a new landmark report.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s study, released on Thursday, has compared drug use across Australia and the world.

The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program Report 14 found that cocaine use fell in Sydney to the lowest on record in June but was still ahead of the rest of the country.

There were 6.6 doses of cocaine per 1000 people per day in June.

And MDMA or ecstasy use in both Sydney and greater New South Wales was the highest in the country, according to the report.

This cocaine haul, weighing almost 1.5 tonnes, has an estimated street value of $322 million. Picture: The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

But the ACIC warned that ice remained a scourge, with Australians the second biggest users in the world.

The bombshell 89-page report found only people in the United States used more ice on average than Australians.

There were 51 hits of the drug per day for every 1000 people in the US, while Australians used 48 hits per day for every 1000 people in April 2020.

That use dipped in April this year to 41 doses per day for every 1000 people in Australia, but it was still above the next worst, the Czech Republic, then closely followed by New Zealand.

The ACIC described methylamphetamine, or ice use, as a “wicked problem” because it was both imported by organised crime from overseas and made here.

Australia was ranked seventh in the world for ecstasy and cannabis abuse, and came in 16th for cocaine consumption.

A record-breaking cocaine sting allegedly laundered $100 million in cash through a Sydney casino in one week. Picture: Supplied

The data was collated by comparing toilet wastewater detections in Australia with similar studies across the globe under the Sewage Core Group Europe, or Score measure.

The study group also includes North America, South Africa and Australia, and examined cannabis or marijuana use for the first time.

Michael Phelan, chief executive at the ACIC, said the results gave a snapshot of the illicit drugs problem in Australia.

“Much of the harm that Australians suffer at the hands of organised crime is due to illicit drugs,” he said.

“Serious and organised crime groups profit from the importation, manufacture, trafficking and sale of drugs that cause harm to the community.”

The data also provided crucial clues on areas of high use, which may also be linked to local drug cook operations.

The report gives a snapshot of the illicit drugs problem in Australia.

“Law enforcement agencies can commence some investigations in the knowledge that the impact on local drug consumption can be measured by wastewater analysis, government and health agencies can effectively allocate resources to priority areas, and the public can be informed of the level of harm caused,” Mr Phelan said.

Australians pay top dollar for drugs, with the wholesale price of cocaine hitting up to $320,000 per kilogram in recent months following Operation Ironside.

The latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program does not cover the period after that sting, where the AFP and FBI captured more than 28 million messages on the encrypted AN0M app.

That bust, which led to hundreds of arrests, interrupted the flow of drugs into Australia.

The report captured data in April and June this year and found that ecstasy use had dropped from record highs in December 2019.

The report also found Melbourne had the highest use of heroin across the country.

Northern Territorians were Australia’s biggest alcohol drinkers and cigarette smokers, while Adelaide was the country’s ice capital.

Hobart had the highest use of prescription painkillers including oxycodone and fentanyl, and were the biggest bong or marijuana smokers.

Perth was Australia’s second worst ice centre, while regional Western Australia came in just behind regional South Australia for the stimulant.

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Originally published as Sydney confirmed as Australia’s coke capital