The report also found thatcross-border efforts to police drug trafficking hadbeenundermined bya disconnectbetween regional and national law enforcement, anddisparity in capacity across agencies,which haderoded trust and intelligence-sharing between them. Criminal gangs are highly visible crime entities, with a presence in all Australian states and territories and overseas. This is particularly when compared with the sanction for simple use or possessiona maximum of two years imprisonment or a more probably, a simple caution or diversion (and no criminal record; Hughes & Ritter 2008). "In a region plagued by 'unmet development challenges', transnational crime and illicit drugs are a cross-cutting threat to development, securityand governance in the Pacific," the report said. Illicit drugs include illegal drugs (such as cannabis, opiates, and certain types of stimulants ), pharmaceutical drugs (such as pain-killers and tranquillisers) when used for non-medical purposes, and other substances used inappropriately . Some of the AFPs operations in the leak led to arrests in Australia and overseas, apparently causing significant disruption to drug supply chains. Australian Institute of health and welfare (2021) Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia [Infographic]. Vietnam has met most of the Millennium Development Goals (Australian Government 2018; United Nations Viet Nam 2017). (2023, February 16). Global Crime, 21(1), 28-50. There are limitations to the IDRS and EDRS. Each triggers increasingly severe penalty ranges that can be applied, such as up to 15 years imprisonment for a trafficable quantity and life imprisonment for a large commercial quantity in New South Wales (Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act, 1986 (NSW)). According to the 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS), an estimated 9.0 million (43%) people aged 14 and over in Australia had illicitly used a drug at some point in their lifetime (including the non-medical use of pharmaceuticals), and an estimated 3.4 million (16.4%) had used an illicit drug in the previous 12 months. Web. The report also found that the deportation policies of Australia, New Zealandand the United States were "exacerbating crime and addiction within Pacific nations" by returning convicted criminals back to their country of origin without rehabilitation. A principal challenge has been how to effectively differentiate and sanction participants in the drug trade . A joint U.S. and Australian law enforcement operation busted an international drug ring after intercepting 2.4 tonnes of cocaine aboard a vessel off the coast of South America that had been bound . A number of desirable indices such as purchases under heavy conditions were unavailable. The implication is that even if the current legal threshold system helps to convict and sanction drug traffickers, it may be placing Australian drug users at risk of unjustified charge or sanction. This view is supported by a US study by Sevigny and Caulkins (2006) which showed that in 1997, 11.9 percent of US federal and 15.6 percent of state inmates convicted of drug trafficking self-reported no trafficking involvement. Sevigny EL & Caulkins JP 2006. Such laws mean that possession of the trafficable threshold amount will constitute a presumption of trafficking placing the onus on the alleged offender to prove that the possessed amount was not for the purposes of trafficking (deemed supply). The table above drug categories in Australia outlines the maximum Australian drug penalties and drug trafficking in Australia penalties according to the drug quantity and type. A recent drug arrest in Australia has links to South Africa. The results indicate that some, but not all users are at risk, with those most likely to exceed current thresholds being consumers of MDMA and residents of New South Wales and South Australia. Findings from the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS). Instead, at both the time of conviction and the year leading to the conviction, they were users/possessors only. 2023. 1. Many countries explicitly avoid their use (eg France). Two additional solutions are suggested. "There has beena notable increase in OMCG members travelling to the Pacific since2016, most commonly to the Cook Islands and Fiji.". This, is turn, could foster higher levels of community dissatisfaction and lower deterrence for current and would-be traffickers. Some states have almost no evidence that users exceed current thresholds for personal use alone (eg Tasmania and Queensland, reflecting in large part the much higher trafficable thresholds). Information that could affect ongoing police operations or court cases, disclose novel police methods or put people in danger is not being published. More generally, the findings suggest that instances of users exceeding the threshold quantity identified would be much less problematic if the threshold quantity were not also linked to the deemed supply laws. Metric 2: User patterns of purchasing; that is, quantity of drugs that a user is likely to purchase for personal use. From opium to marijuana to cocaine, a variety of substances have been illegally imported, sold and distributed throughout U.S . Accordingly, data on quantity of drug consumed was also sourced from the 2010 NDSHS (AIHW 2011). Given this would necessitate much larger quantities in some cases (eg 29 grams of MDMA), this may well be a less potentially feasible option. Moreover, when there is a suspicion that a certain person may be transporting narcotics, it produces a prompt response. Yet, in spite of known risks from adopting such thresholds, particularly of an unjustified conviction of a user as a trafficker, the capacity of Australian legal thresholds to deliver proportional sanctioning has been subject to limited research to date. What is clear from this analysis is that, even if the system helps to convict and sanction drug traffickers, the current legal threshold system is placing Australian drug users at risk of unjustified charge or sanction. Australian authorities shared intelligence with their Colombian counterparts relating to the kingpins distribution of methamphetamine, MDMA and heroin trafficked into Perth via criminal networks in the Middle East and South-East Asia. Australia's illegal drug trade is estimated to be worth $11.3 billion per year. "Transnational drug crime is a protracted problem, but not one that is of the Pacific's own making rather the region is a casualty of the criminal greed of organised crime and the drug appetite ofAustralia and New Zealand.". However, drug trafficking examples can also concern prescription drugs that people tend to abuse, like Xanax, Adderall, oxycodone and Vicodin. Moreover, in a heavy session, 80 percent of regular users in New South Wales reported consuming more than the trafficable threshold quantity (18% in Western Australia and 30% in South Australia). A 2018 Australian Federal Police (AFP) document reviewed by Reuters outlining the top . They are ambivalent to the misery caused by their product, its impact on our health systems, or if innocent people are killed in the crossfire of their turf wars.. 4 Min Read. . Page Last Updated: February 16, 2023. https://studycorgi.com/high-level-drug-trafficking-in-australia/. Skip to content (02) 7205 5934 Find Court Date Book A Lawyer About. (2021). Not just is it simple to walk across borders without attention, but even huge transports with crime baggage also pass illegally (OReilly et al., 2020). Drug Trafficking in the Mainland Southeast Asian Region: The Example of Vietnam's Shared Borderland with Laos - Volume 58 Issue 1 . Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2011. The group claiming responsibility for the data hacking, Guacamaya, the Mayan name for macaw, said it has environmental and anti-imperialist motives. The authors highlight a number of reforms that ought mitigate the risks and increase capacity to capture Australian drug traffickers. Enactment by other jurisdictions would lower most threshold quantities, particularly in Tasmania, but also in the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Guacamaya invites the peoples of Abya Yala (an Indigenous name for Central and South America) to hack and filter these systems of repression, domination and enslavement that dominate us, and that it be the peoples who decide to find a way to free us from state terrorism, their statement said. During the 20th century, many of these groups established themselves as the key suppliers of marijuana and heroin. Attorney-Generals Department (AGD) 2011. Drug trafficking is increasingly on the agenda among international organizations, which are sincerely concerned about the growing prevalence of the problem. Conversely, opponents of threshold quantities argue that specification of a quantity of drug as the cut off between offences can unwittingly lead to inappropriate or unjust sentencing of drug offenders. For more information on the penalties that apply in your state, refer to the state and territory . In this study, the ACT work was extended to evaluate the most pertinent drug trafficking thresholdthe trafficable thresholdin six Australian states (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia) against drug user behaviour and knowledge of Australian drug markets. If you are the original creator of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal. The syndicate also has the ability to impregnate cocaine into items like plastic tables and mobile phones. How common is illicit drug use? The police informed that the 21-year-old youths were caught while returning from the casino. http://www.nationaldrugstrategy.gov.au/internet/drugstrategy/publishing. evaluate whether the trafficable thresholds allow the prosecution and the judiciary to properly distinguish drug users from traffickers; compare and contrast threshold design across Australia, taking into account interstate differences in current legal thresholds and drug markets; determine whether the problems identified with the ACT drug trafficking thresholds are common across state systems. However, most customs, border, law enforcement, and policymakers agree that it results in high financial and social costs. Thus, preventive measures will make it possible for drug traffickers to understand that the Australian frontier is under close protection (Malins, 2019). Hughes, C. E., Chalmers, J., & Bright, D. A. Recognition of the lack of uniformity led to specification of the Australian Model Criminal Code of serious drug offences (MCCOC 1998b) and a single set of threshold quantities for all states and territories in Australia to adopt (set for a trafficable threshold quantity at 2 mixed grams of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine or MDMA and 250 grams of cannabis). This indicates that Australian drug users are unlikely to exceed the trafficable threshold under normal circumstances, but that when using or purchasing their highest doses, many do exceed the thresholds. In 2017, the authority seized 3.3 tonnes of cocaine, 2.1 tonnes of crystal meth and undocumented amount of Heroin. Those funds are undermining Australia's public health and distorting our economy, and ultimately funding drug cartels and traffickers in Southeast Asia. But a new Australian report suggests that it's more prolific here than most people think, or perhaps even care to admit. These border controlled drugs and precursors, along with offences and penalties can be located under Part 9 Section 307 Criminal Code Act 1995. SYDNEY (Reuters) - Dutch authorities have arrested 57-year old Canadian national Tse Chi Lop at the request of the Australia Federal Police after a long probe into drug trafficking in . 22. As a result, a large consignment of drugs previously transported across the boundary was found. This process was repeated for Metric 2 using data from the IDRS and EDRS only (data on purchasing was unavailable from the NDSHS). February 16, 2023. https://studycorgi.com/high-level-drug-trafficking-in-australia/. They use this knowledge to find the least controlled way and efficiently deliver the required goods. Sometimes, even in one country, the customs authorities have different operating instructions and do not interact well. It is difficult to definitively estimate what proportion and how often users are placed at risk of unjustified charge or sanction. As summarised at an international meeting on threshold quantities. Such behaviour is of concern, not only because of the number of regular MDMA users exceeding the thresholds, but also because binging (ie high quantity use; Sindicich & Burns 2102) and stockpiling (ie high-quantity purchases) are both common behaviours among regular MDMA users (Fowler, Kinner & Krenske 2007). StudyCorgi. This study was conducted at the Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP), which is located at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), the University of New South Wales. Model Criminal Code Officers Committee (MCCOC) 1998a. Proponents of the use of threshold quantities argue that they are the optimal means to guarantee that drug offenders receive the sanction that they deserve (MCCOC 1998b; Sentencing Council 2011). First, there has yet to be any systematic assessment of the risks (and benefits) of thresholds. Inspectors face the operational hurdle of including the exponential increases in contract sizes with only a restricted number of workforce and tools of their control. Caitlin Hughes, Alison Ritter and Benjamin Phillips are from the Drug Policy Modelling Program, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, The University of New South Wales. The ABC has reached out to Australian Border Force for comment. Australia falls into this latter, minority category. To date, only one state, South Australia, has enacted such changes. A., Hughes, C. E., Bright, D. A., & Ritter, A. Lawbreakers skillfully collect counterintelligence data on the operational activities of customs and frontier guards and traffic current models to determine optimal boundary crossing times. "Many times, these deportees have spent most of their lives outside of their countries of origin and have grown up in Australia, New Zealand or the US," Mr Sousa-Santos said. Chill Now? UK nationals charged with trafficking drugs into Australia. Due to the undercover nature and absence of provable data on this issue, it is challenging to estimate the market area of the trade with perfect correctness (Hughes et al., 2020). In Australia, the issue of drug trafficking thresholds has risen to the fore, mainly in the context of concern about the lack of consistency across drug quantities in different state systems. International Journal of Drug Policy, 67, 63-71. "When they are returned, they're returned with no cultural understanding, language skills of those countries support networks to receive them or prospects of work. In Papua New Guinea, there are no laws that prohibit the production, sale or use of methamphetamines, making it a key location to transit drugs to Australia. The detainee was interrogated, and his phone was examined to find his accomplices. Nevertheless, most median and mean quantities that Australian drug users reported consuming or purchasing were lower than the trafficable thresholds. The report's author, Jose Sousa-Santos,saidthe street value formethamphetamine and cocaine in Australia and New Zealand was among the highestin the world. According to GFI's report, the global market in cocaine is valued at between $94 billion and $143 billion, an increase from an estimated $88 billion in 2008. Over the past 50 years, levels of apparent consumption of different alcoholic beverages changed substantially. At the same time, in order to achieve the plan, it is essential to perform such actions as constant border patrol, an inspection of vehicles entering the territory of Australia, and individuals. Consequently, collectively with border guards, the Australian Federal Police is involved in the struggle against drug trafficking. "High-Level Drug Trafficking in Australia." A number of laws are employed for sanctioning alleged drug traffickers in Australia, but most jurisdictions also have laws to sanction solely on the weight of the drug found. KATHMANDU, March 4: The Australian Federal Police has arrested two Nepali youths for their involvement in drug trafficking. The profit that remained in Australia's economy was about $5 billion. StudyCorgi. First, the deeming provision that reverses the onus of proof onto alleged drug offenders found in possession of the threshold quantity or greater is highly exceptional, compared with other countries drug trafficking thresholds and the standard Australian law and criminal justice responses to serious crimes. Drug trafficking is a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. The specific threshold quantities employed vary by drug type, by jurisdiction and whether they are measured in terms of the pure chemical compound of a drug (pure grams) or, more commonly, in terms of pure chemical and any inert substances and fillers that are added before sale on the street (mixed grams or admixtures). In fact, prescription drugs are some of the pricier drugs out there. Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable health burden in Australia. Foreword | Legal threshold quantities for drug trafficking, over which possession of an illicit drug is deemed trafficking as opposed to personal use are used in most Australian states and territories. Hughes, Caitlin|Ritter, Alison|Cowdery, Nicholas|Phillips, Benjamin, The implementation of model schedules for Commonwealth serious drug offences, Data sources on illicit drug use and harm in Australia, Containing ecstasy: Analytical tools for profiling an illegal drug market, Conviction by numbers: Threshold quantities for drug policy, TNI-EMCDDA expert seminar on threshold quantities, Topic overview: Threshold quantities for drug offences, Legislative threshold for drug possession and traffic: An overview of state and territory differences in Australia, The role of the quantity in the prosecution of drug offences (ELDD comparative study), A summary of diversion programs for drug and drug-related offenders in Australia, Serious drug offences (Model Criminal Code), Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy joint communique16 May, Drug offences guideline: Professional consultation, http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/emanuals/CrimChargeBook/default.htm.
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