Canada second only to Chile as exporter of cocaine to Australia
Australian Federal Police officers handle cocaine at their headquarters in Melbourne on September 16, 2011. The Australian Crime Commission reports that most of the cocaine brought into the country comes from Chile, with Canada second, climbing three spots since 2010.
Melbourne, 31 August 2014 – There is an increasing Canadian presence in the Australian drug scene, where traffickers brave harsh enforcement for large profits in a “high-risk, high-reward” market, authorities say.
The Australian Crime Commission reports that most of the cocaine brought into the country comes from Chile, with Canada second, climbing three spots since 2010.
The numbers accompany a spate of Canadian-linked drug incidents during the past year, including the conviction in June of a Canadian man who tricked an elderly Australian couple into becoming drug mules.
“Even though it may be logistically complex to get illicit drugs to Australia, (traffickers) feel the expense is worth it because of the high prices they can obtain if successful,” Australian Federal Police said in a statement.
Estimates of the street value of the drug vary between police jurisdictions within Canada, but Australian authorities say a kilogram of cocaine there can fetch up to $250,000, which could be up to five times higher than the price in Canada.
A spokesman for a British Columbia multi-agency initiative said Canadian criminals do not produce cocaine, much of which comes from South America.
“They’ll try to buy or barter for a kilo or however many kilos of cocaine, and then, because it’s all about making money, they look to see where they can make the most,” said Sgt. Lindsey Houghton of the Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit.
“Smuggle it into Australia… they can get three, four, five times the price.”
He said drug supply is short in Australia because of strong enforcement and the country’s location — it is far from where cocaine is predominantly produced.
“The Australian police have been really successful in disrupting, suppressing criminal groups,” Houghton said.
Canadian traffickers affiliate themselves with local gangs, but sometimes rope in Canadian expatriates, Houghton said. Canadian drug runners have “significant connections” with Australian outlaw biker gangs and other criminal organizations, the Australian Crime Commission said.
Read More: The Canadian Press