DRUG DEALING "WORSE THAN EVER"

Senior NSW detectives are claiming that poor management by the Police
Service has been partly responsible for drug dealing in Kings Cross
flourishing to a level that business leaders say is worse than before the
NSW Police Royal Commission.

Dozens of dealers are now openly selling drugs on the street around
Darlinghurst Road and adopting techniques first used in Cabramatta -
selling small quantities of heroin and cocaine concealed in balloons.

Dr Raymond Seidler, a GP who has had a practice in Springfield Avenue since
1978, says he had never seen as much open dealing as now goes on in Kings
Cross.

"In many ways things were better before the Royal Commission," Dr Seidler says.

"I thought at one one stage that things would change, that they would get
things to an acceptable level, that Kings Cross would become a great suburb
to live and do business in.

"Now I walk out my door and see people dealing drugs openly and users
pissing and shitting in the street, and the police don't seem to be doing
too much about it."

According to a senior NSW detective, part of the problem dates from the
disbandment of the elite unit, Task Force Bax, late last year following
revelations in the Police Integrity Commission involving a small number of
task force members.

While three members of the task force were charged with giving false or
misleading evidence, the 30-strong unit of detectives had been extremely
successful in "picking off" some of the major dealers and their associates.
It allowed the detectives from Kings Cross to focus on the street-level
dealers.

In its 18 months of operation, Bax detectives arrested more than 80 people,
including a number named in the royal commission as being major dealers,
and 20 for offences that carry a life sentence.

"In my opinion the senior management have turned a blind eye to the Cross,"
a senior detective said. "They disbanded Bax but they didn't replace it
with anything as effective and the local blokes haven't got the resources
to be chasing the bigger fish. That eventually filters down to the streets
and now the whole thing is out of control."

The Herald understands that there is a covert unit examining some of the
bigger players in Kings Cross but that unit has had to "start from scratch"
in gathering information and recruiting informants.

Insiders claim that the response following the closure of Bax was neither
swift nor adequate.

The commander of Kings Cross patrol, Superintendent Ray Adams, says he is
"very much aware" of street dealers and many arrests have been made in the
area. Overall, crime in the Kings Cross area was down significantly,
particularly break and enters, theft, assaults and car theft, and drug
arrests were up.

Police had aggressively policed the night clubs and strip clubs in the area
and a number of clubs had lost their licences and were facing fines of more
than $1 million.

The heavy policing of the clubs and strip joints had driven the dealing to
the streets.

"Our biggest problem is that there is a huge demand for drugs and nothing
we do reduces that demand," Superintendent Adams said.

Last week the Herald observed about a dozen dealers coming and going from
around the public telephone boxes in Springfield Mall, dealing openly with
clients in the street.

Dr Seidler says: "I get tourists and backpackers come into my clinic from
all over the world and I don't think it leaves a very good impression with
them that every time they leave their hotel or hostel someone is badgering
them to buy drugs."

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson