News

WA Drug Taskforce Has Seized 15kg of Ice Since April

20 July, 2015

A special multi-agency drug taskforce formed by the State Government of Western Australia has been removing a significant amount of ice from WA’s streets since April, says Danielle Le Messurier in a report for Perth Now.

According to Police Minister Liza Harvey, the WA Joint Organised Crime Taskforce, which was established with Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan, has seized 15 kilograms of methamphetamine, more popularly known as ice.

Headed by former Victoria police commissioner Ken Lay, the drug taskforce operates throughout WA, and will focus on serious and organised crime in the state, the ice threat in particular. It is made up of 15 permanent officers from WA Police, Australian Federal Police, the Australian Crime Commission, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.

Read the full story here.

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Aussie Paramedics Fear “Superhuman Strength” of Ice Users

16 July, 2015

Paramedics across Australia have expressed concern about the “superhuman strength” exhibited by ice users they are helping during callouts, fearing it would just be a matter of time before they get hurt or even killed according to a report by Mark Willacy for ABC News.

Willacy’s report cited one case of a female ice user of slight build who needed to be restrained by three men with the assistance of policemen so they could sedate her. Once in the hospital, the woman had to be restrained again, this time by nine people because she was just too strong.

Paramedics have good reason to worry about their safety, as ice users can indeed be very violent, paranoid and unpredictable.

Click here to read the full story.

Coordinated Action Needed to Solve Ice Epidemic in Australia

15 July, 2015

Reisa Su writes an article for the International Business Times saying that coordinated action is necessary if the ice epidemic in Australia is to be solved.

Su says this much is stressed out in the government report, Illicit Drug Data Report 2013-2014. The Australian drug market is rapidly expanding, organized crime groups are taking advantage, and many Australians have proven to be willing to pay higher than usual price for drugs like ice. This has made Australia an attractive marketplace for the manufacture and importation of ice or methylamphetamine.

A national task force has been formed by Prime Minister Tony Abbott to combat the ice epidemic. This task force will coordinate with state and local governments to address the problem. To further strengthen the response against the growing ice epidemic in Australia, collaboration between the government and the private sectors is also highly encouraged.

Read the full article here.