POLICE WORK HITS THE HEROIN TRADE

Recent seizures of heroin being smuggled into Australia had created
shortages in capital cities and a much lower overdose rate, police said
yesterday.

In Melbourne this year eight people have died from heroin overdoses,
compared with more than 30 in the same time last year.

But Police Commissioner Neil Comrie said yesterday the shortage was
unlikely to last.

"The trend, I understand, is reflected right across Australia," he said.
"... the increased level of interception has had a very strong impact on
the number of heroin-related deaths."

Mr Comrie said the quality and quantity of heroin on the streets was
significantly lower than last year but this was not likely to continue
indefinitely.

At the launch of this year's Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence
report on illicit drugs, Mr Comrie said heroin-related deaths had tripled
in the past decade.

He said the figure of less than 2000 heroin arrests in 1991 seemed almost
quaint when compared with totals that were now five times that figure.
Launching the report, which provides a national benchmark of Australia's
drug problem, Mr Comrie said the increased use of amphetamines, the most
commonly used illegal drug after cannabis, was disturbing.

Last year 381 kilograms of amphetamines were seized and about 8000 people
arrested for amphetamine-related offences.

"This is of great concern, especially when one considers that a decade ago
this figure was only 3300 and the total weight of amphetamine seized was
only 84 kilograms," Mr Comrie said.

The report found that young people, particularly those aged 20 to 24, were
the greatest amphetamine users, and that the drug was often injected,
expanding the market for intravenous drug use.

The report noted the emergence of a potent, new amphetamine called base.
The surge in the use of base was linked to the continued rise in small,
mobile clandestine laboratories. The laboratories, which fit into a
suitcase and can be set up in 15 minutes in a motel room, produce the
virulent base from pharmaceutical products such as cold preparations.

Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison said the most disturbing aspect of
the report was increased mixing of drugs. He said the government had
committed $516 million to its Tough on Drugs strategy, of which $120
million was targeted towards illicit drugs.

"In the last three years we have seen $1.24 billion worth of drug seizures,
a 300 per cent increase," Senator Ellison said.

"We are not saying we have stopped drugs coming, but the feedback we have
had that there is a shortage of heroin on capital city streets tells us we
are achieving results."