SQUAD FIGHTS ICE

THE Federal Government is to establish an international "flying squad"
of elite police to target production of the killer drug crystal
methamphetamine, or "ice". The new Australian Federal Police squad
will be announced by Prime Minister John Howard today as part of an
additional $150 million over four years to boost the Government's
"tough on drugs" strategy.

There will also be extra funds to buy state-of-the-art drug detection
equipment for the Customs Service.

As well as other drugs, this equipment will detect both the
importation of ice and its components, such as pseudoephedrine.

Some of the largest ice factories supplying Australia are in
South-East Asian countries such as Indonesia. The new international
AFP squad, to be known as the Regional Deployment Team, will aim to
intercept the drug before it reaches Australia.

The team will operate via an international liaison officer network,
and travel to regional sites of drug production if the case requires.

The package to be announced by Mr Howard will also include money for
the Australian Crime Commission aimed at improving its technical
communications interception capabilities.

The strategy will involve three main planks - rehabilitation,
education and greater law enforcement.

It adds to the $1.3 billion the Government has already spent on the
drug strategy first unveiled in 1997.

In that period, the number of Australian illicit drug users fell from
22 per cent to 15 per cent, cannabis users dropped from 18 per cent to
11 per cent, and heroin deaths from 1100 a year a decade ago to 374 in
2005.

Police have also seized a total of 14 tonnes of illicit drugs over the
decade.

The announcement will build on independent research showing that in
nine out of 10 families, parents and children are prepared to talk to
each other about illegal drug use.

The package will also feature a new edition of the free booklet
Talking With Your Kids About Drugs. It will emphasise the dangers and
warning signs of ice use. More resources will be made available to
teachers to combat the use of methamphetamines, and to non-government
organisations providing rehabilitation.

It will recognise that the treatment of ice addicts often requires
specialist skills, because chronic users can be psychotic and violent.

An international study released two weeks ago showed Australia had the
highest per-capita ice usage in the English-speaking world.

Mr Howard's initiative follows an announcement by Opposition Leader
Kevin Rudd last week that a Labor Government would ban the importation
of ice implements and the sale of pseudoephedrine to minors.