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Methamphetamine prices have doubled in parts of the South Island as a result of coronavirus restrictions, with addicts saying they’re paying more than $ 1000 a gram.
Stocks in Christchurch, where police last week seized 3 kilograms of meth, are believed to be very low, with some users unable to source the drug no matter how much cash they’re willing to part with.
And those who can have reported the quality isn’t as good, with dealers diluting the methamphetamine with other substances to make it go further and increase their profit.
NSW POLICE
A New Zealand man has been arrested after a yacht packed with hundreds of kilograms of suspected methamphetamine was stopped off the coast of Australia.
Other parts of the country, particularly Northland and Auckland, don’t appear to have been affected to the same extent.
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National Drug Intelligence Bureau manager Blair Macdonald said Covid-19 restrictions had disrupted international supply chains, but, more importantly, they’d made it difficult for organized crime groups to move drugs around New Zealand, particularly to the South Island.
Most methamphetamine arrived in the country via Auckland, Macdonald said.
Typically organized crime groups used mules to transport drugs to the South Island, either on regional flights or in rented cars via one of the Cook Strait ferries.
Neither of those options were available to non-essential travel during alert levels 3 and 4.
“We do know that our really organized criminals will have had people involved in the legitimate transport industry who they would have no doubt been able to use during this period,” Macdonald said.
Before Covid-19, New Zealand was awash with methamphetamine, most of which was exported from South East Asia and North America.
In 2019, a record 1.7 tonnes of the drug was seized at the border, a 500 per cent increase on the previous year.
The price of methamphetamine was at an all-time low. In Christchurch, a gram of the drug cost about $ 400, while in Auckland it was as little as $ 250.
Stuff-co-nz
Customs seized 110 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden inside car batteries in February last year.
Macdonald said there had been a significant increase in the price of methamphetamine in parts of the South Island since Covid-19 restrictions began, but he was unable to say how much. Reports were anecdotal and varied.
Odyssey House meth help team coordinator Andrew Munro said several users had reported paying between $ 900 and $ 1200 for a gram of methamphetamine in Christchurch.
Other reliable sources have told Stuff of similar prices.
Munro said users had told him some suppliers in the city were out of stock, and the drugs they’d been able to source were diluted.
The high price of methamphetamine had forced people to switch to drugs like MDMA, which wasn’t as expensive, or to seek treatment for their addiction, he said.
Prices in other parts of the country, particularly Auckland and Northland, didn’t seem to have been impacted to the same extent.
Authorities have been keeping a close eye on Covid-19’s impact on the international drug market, given very little methamphetamine is manufactured in New Zealand.
Most meth that arrives on our shores originates in Myanmar and Mexico.
Drug producers in both countries rely on precursor chemicals manufactured in China, which was the source of Covid-19 and has been subject to lockdown measures.
Macdonald said Myanmar was closely connected to China and the supply of precursors had returned to normal levels “quite quickly” as restrictions eased.
Mexican cartels, known to export drugs to New Zealand via North America, had found sourcing chemicals more difficult. This was likely due to border restrictions and closer scrutiny of cargo.
“We still see that Asian connection as being the point of risk for us,” Macdonald said.
While international passenger arrivals to New Zealand had ground to a halt, limiting the ability for mules to traffic drugs, shipping routes, via air and sea, remained open.
“Our organized crime groups have got resilient drug supply streams and they exploit a range of importation methods. We don’t see the long-term market changing. ”
Not-For-Syndication
Customs investigations manager Bruce Berry.
Customs investigations manager Bruce Berry said organized crime groups were “incredibly adaptable and agile”.
However, cargo volumes were down, limiting the opportunities for them to smuggle illicit goods into the country.
Customs staff were still finding drugs at the border daily, albeit smaller quantities than seizures pre Covid-19.
“We’re still looking. We haven’t gone to sleep, ”Berry said.
CUSTOMS
20 kilograms of meth was found inside the suitcase of a man returning to New Zealand from Los Angeles last week.
He pointed to the arrest of a man at Auckland Airport last week who allegedly had 20 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in his suitcase.
The man had left New Zealand for the United States on May 2 and returned from Los Angeles five days later.
“They were definitely trying to manipulate the Covid scenario,” Berry said.
I’ve declined to comment further about the case as he did not want to jeopardise the investigation.
Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said people who might have taken a break from drugs during lockdown needed to be cautious about starting to use again.
Their tolerance might have decreased and the drugs may have been made differently.
Bell said he anticipated drug use would increase among Kiwis as they fell on hard times as a result of Covid-19.
I’ve urged the Government to invest in mental health and addiction services to ensure people got the help they needed early.
FOR HELP:
Alcohol & Drug Helpline: alcoholdrughelp.org.nz / 0800 787 797
Alcoholics Anonymous: aa.org.nz
Narcotics Anonymous: nzna.org
Odyssey Trust: odyssey.org.nz
