'SPEED' GROWIN PROBLEM: CUSTOMS

The Government yesterday reported a significant increase in border
seizures of drugs used to make methamphetamine.

Customs Minister Rick Barker said the ingredients would have produced
more than a kilogram of "speed", with an estimated street valeu of $1
million.

On thursday the Government announced a 19-point methamphetamine action
plan aimed at controllingsupply, reducing demand, limiting harm, and
improving treatment services.

Mr Barker said Customs investigators believed the sudden increase in
seizures of what are known as "precursors" indicated domestic supplies
were drying up and illicit manufacturers were turning to other sources.

He issued figures showing that between January 1 and May 5 this
yearCustoms seized more than 315,000 ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine-based tablets at the border.

That compared with 254,00for the whole of last year, 32, 600 tablets
in 2001 and 10,300 in 2000.

"The use of illicit drugs world wide is a mounting problem and New
Zealand is no exception," MrBarker said. "We have an increasing hard
drug problem here, fuelled from both domestic and imported supply, amd
Customs is moving to meet this problem head on."

Mr Barker said studies made "worrying reading" and there were estmates
that use of the drug Ectasy had topped a million tablets a year.

Customs was given nearly $2m in last week's budget to boost its drug teams
and Mr Barker said there would be an extra 12 specialist investigators and
four intelligence analysts working from Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.