Moreover, they can charge a higher mark-up for the cost of importation.Īnd despite these higher prices, the cities’ demand for the drug continues to increase. It’s even easier than smuggling it into the United States. Smugglers also find it easy to ship cocaine straight from South American and into Australia. Prices can often go above $300 per gram (compared to the average global price of $127 per gram). The country’s urbanites are willing to pay a premium for cocaine. This is especially true among higher-paying users in Australia’s capital cities and urban centres. That’s because, over the past four years, cocaine has become popular. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s latest wastewater sample tests reveal that cocaine consumption in Australia hasn’t waned at all, despite the pandemic. Of these substances, cocaine remains the second-most frequently used and traded illegal drug in the world (after cannabis). And it’s proven to be a particularly profitable product for “amateur” drug dealers (like Baggaley) to trade in, especially in the Australian market. According to the latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program report, the annual consumption of cocaine, MDMA, and heroin over the past year are at the highest levels ever recorded. In other words, there are more criminals for police to battle with.Įven the COVID-19 pandemic has barely made a dent in Australians’ overall year 2020 consumption of the most popular illegal drugs. That translates to more homegrown drug dealers. The fact is, for the past decade or so, more and more Australians have gotten mired in illicit drug use. Police found tradespeople, real estate agents, and even fitness influencers among them. Most of them were people with “normal” jobs. Back in November 2020, Vice World News reported that Sydney police have arrested hundreds of people for drug dealing over the last few years.
One of the men was a former property developer.Īnd these are just the tip of the iceberg. In March 2021, Sydney police arrested five men for having ties to an international cocaine syndicate operating in the country.He was out on bail when he attempted to escape. Her son had previously been arrested by authorities for operating a cocaine importation syndicate. She had aided her wealthy businessman son to flee the country. Meanwhile, a 66-year old central Queensland mother was sentenced to four years in jail.He was charged for allegedly supplying large amounts of methamphetamines (“ice”) to various towns in NSW. For instance, former Australian Olympic swimmer Scott Miller was arrested in Rozelle last February 2021.Some entrepreneurial Australians find cocaine trading too profitable and tempting to resist. A far too common storyĪt first glance, Nathan Baggaley’s case seems extraordinary – a fall from grace of Olympic proportions, so to speak.īut unfortunately, an alarming number of seemingly respectable Australians have gone down similar paths. But with this latest offence, the brothers could face a lifetime in prison. Both Nathan and Dru Baggaley have a history of dealing in illegal drugs. However, this isn’t the first time they’ve dabbled in crime. The Baggaleys will now be sentenced at a later date. (Dru Baggaley himself was aboard the boat together with skipper Anthony Draper.) The ship offloaded some 200 million dollars worth of cocaine. Police had intercepted a boat they hired to receive goods from a foreign ship some 360 kilometres off the coast. The charges were based on their arrest back in 2018. In April 2021, the Brisbane Supreme Court found the two-time Olympic silver medalist kayaker and his brother Dru guilty of smuggling cocaine into the country. If you need a poster boy for Australia’s illegal drug industry, look no further than former Olympic athlete Nathan Baggaley. Drug Testing For Cocaine At The Workplace.Why Should You Drug Test In The Workplace?.COVID-19 Testing Services for Employers.Training, Education & Awareness Programs.Drug Testing Facilities Accredited by NATA.
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