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Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Wednesday, the fourth of December. I'm Sam, I'm Billy. Earlier this week, Australian authorities seized two point three four tons of cocaine from a fishing boat off Queensland's coast, in what was the largest cocaine seizure in Australian history. Police told us that the hall has a street value of about seven
hundred and sixty million dollars. Following the operation, called Operation Tyran Door, police charged thirteen people, including two under eighteens and one in a leadership position of an outlaw BIKI club, with conspiring to import drugs. I found guilty. They're going to face a maximum sentence of life in prison. In today's podcast, we're going to chat to AFP Commander Stephen Jay who led that operation.
So before we get into your interview with Commander Stephen J, do you want to first just give us a sense of the state of cocaine use in Australia at the moment, and not only how many Australians are consuming cocaine, but also it just feels like there have been quite a few major police operations in the last twelve months from police when it comes to cocaine.
It definitely feels like we've used the phrase record hall quite a few times. And whether that's talking about international cocaine siezures or domestic cocaine sizes, there's definitely been a trend. And I asked the commander about this trend.
It seems clear that there's a real worldwide crackdown on cocaine use.
Yeah, and interestingly, when I was doing the research for the interview, there's also an increase in supply of cocaine, so there's more cocaine being made out of cocaine hotspots like South from Central America, so it's a higher volume game. Now the sieges are going to be higher, the amounts on the streets are going to be higher as well.
According to government data updated in February of this year, four point five percent of Australians over fourteen, so we're talking here about one million Australians have consumed cocaine in the last twelve months.
Interesting that that's over fourteen, that's so young.
Yeah, well, that's kind of I think when they start really diving into the research about population trends with drug use, so that starts there, and that's up from about one point three percent of the population in two thousand and one, so it's kind of four x itself almost in twenty five years. The average age of first use of cocaine in Australia is now twenty four and that's risen a little bit from twenty three and a half a couple
of years ago. And of those who have used cocaine in the past year, about fifteen percent of that group are using it monthly or more often than monthly. Interestingly, one in four users of cocaine within the last twelve months said they'd been diagnosed or treated for a mental health condition as well.
Interesting what else do we know about the population of Australians who use coke?
More common drug used by men rather than by women, but the percentage of women who use it is growing rapidly and that gap is narrowing. If you live in a wealthy metropolitan area, you're four times more likely to have had cocaine within the last twelve months than somebody
in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage. There's also a marked increase over the last twenty years in cocaine consumption in the LGBTQIA plus community, with consumption rates about two point seven times higher in that sector compared to the heterosexual population. If we zoom out and look at all drugs, it's now the second most common drug consumed by Australians behind marijuana. Wow.
And so you said earlier that Australian authorities had seized two point three four tons of cocaine. I find it hard to conceptualize or contextualize how much that actually is. I think a lot of young people know cocaine in terms of bags, which is one gram. How many bags are in two point three four tons of cocaine.
So it's two million, three hundred and twenty four thousand, one gram bags of cocaine. That is an insane amount of cocaine. It's the same weight as a car. And I found that pretty helpful in trying to visualize how much this is. And when you look at how much cocaine Australians consume in a year, it's about four tons according to federal authorities. So when you consider the two point three to four ton seizure, that's over half of the entire national annual consumption of cocaine in one seizure.
It's more than New South Wales alone, and New South Wales alone is responsible for, you know, that kind of fifty five percent of Australia's cocaine use. So that is a massive dent into the supply of this drug coming into Australia.
And what can you tell me about the price? How does a seizure like this impact the price of cocaine on the street.
It's a really tricky question to answer and to draw a link between. And I've asked the commander to kind of explain this point more as well, but to give you a sense of the numbers here, in two thousand and nine twenty ten, a gram of cocaine, a bag of cocaine cost about forty to seventy dollars in Australia. Now it sits somewhere between two hundred and fifty to four hundred dollars, and we pay the highest for a gram of cocaine out of any country in the world.
And I think the other interesting element here though, alongside price, is what's actually in that bag of cocaine. And the federal criminal authorities say that they've seen a decrease in the purity of cocaine since about twenty eighteen. So on the graph, there's an interesting increase in the purity of cocaine in kind of two thousand and five to twenty eighteen.
Now it's dipping. And some data that's emerged from the act's pill testing in recent years shows that as much as forty percent of cocaine in Australia is not actually cocaine. And that was also something I wanted to talk to the commander about, which is this idea of if we're removing cocaine from the streets, but we know that consumption doesn't change, then what are people actually consuming?
Great point, let's get to that chat.
Commander Stephen Jay, thank you so much for joining us on the Daily OS this morning.
My pleasure. Sam.
Can you give me a rundown of this week's seizure and why it was so significant to the AFP.
Yeah, okay. Well, as mentioned the investigation, Operation Tirandor was a joint investigation involving the STRAIN through the Police, the Queensland Police Services Australian Border Force, which commenced last month as a result of information suggesting that the syndic was planning to import multi time importation of cocaine into Australia
through the coast of Queensland. So the investigation progressed very very quickly, leading to what occurred on Sunday afternoon, which was the seizure of two point three four tons of cocaine on a small boat off the coast of Ghari in Queensland and the rest of thirteen persons, including two juveniles.
So I understand the two point three or four tons is the largest ever seizure of cocaine in our country and obviously is quite significant that respect, we will allege two of the individuals who were arrested senior members of the Common Serio's outlaw motorcycle game. So this arrest and the siege will have a significant impact, we believe in not just the drug market Australia, but also I guess the organized crimes framework in this country.
Were the Federal Police surprised with the quantity of drugs on board that ship?
Look, we were very much working based on information available to us that it was a multi time importation, so I don't think we were necessary surprise when we found that amount of drugs on the boat. What I would say is obviously Australia is a very attractive market for cartels and syndicates operating in South America to send drugs such as cocaine into Australia. So there is a large,
unfortunately a large appetite for these drugs. So large sieges like this are very unusual, but they're probably reflective of the issues we have with drug consumption this country, and particularly the appetites amongst some people to buy these drugs.
One thing I noticed as I was reading about this operation is that it began in November. I mean by you know, a look at a calendar that could be potentially only a week ago or a couple of weeks ago. Was that unusual for an operation that resulted in such a sizeable seizure? And why did things kind of come to you so quickly and then eventuate to its conclusion so quickly.
Yeah, that's a good point, stam So yes, for us, the investigation only commenced a month ago, so yes, it is unusual and quick. What I would say, however, is that the individuals the entity is involved in this kind of offending, alleged defending, You don't just stumble into this it's something that you have to make yourself available for. So police forces and agencies around the country very well versed in identifying people who may be involved in this
type of activity. So although the investigation only run for a month, the reality is, you know, intelligence and information and available to us suggestive that something was occurring. The other point you make, which is a good one, is
that this is a significant undertaking. So we may have only been physically investigating for a month, the reality is and an activity like this, planning for a syndicate to import this quantity of drugs in Australia may have taken twelve to eighteen months, So we have come in late. But a syndicate or a group of individuals looking to do what these people have alledged really tried to do this would have been a significant enterprice that may have taken a very long time for them to pull together.
So I think it's fair to say we came at the tail ends. But you know, the individuals who have been arrested were known at us.
And that's something I've picked up in our comments section when we've been reporting this story, is you know that we're talking about the weight of a motor vehicle worth of cocaine coming in. I mean that is a complex operation. If you're moving a ton of bricks or a ton of wood rather than a ton of illicit drugs.
That's a very good point and I think that also goes to an issue which we've mentioned is not only do drugs like this have a potentially catastrophic impact on the Australian community, what this syndicate proposed to do is highly risky. So it's risky to people who may be
on the may end up consuming these drugs. But the individuals involved in this alleged offending have attempted to travel four hundred and sixty comeras off the coast of Australia to collect a large weight of drugs in what was questionable weather conditions and have then proceeded back to the proximity of Ghari where their vessels broken down.
So it's risky exactly. And that's been the angle actually picked up by most of the international media is you know, the headlines are reading ship breaks down as cocaine you pick up, mission goes along. Did that break down in the mechanical issues of the ship change the way that your team approached the mission?
No, I mean it's fair to say they were. Obviously the LEDs to Nikot were very surprised that their vessel broke down, and we were as well. Neither We probably were on common ground in that perspective. Neither of s expected this will occurred. But fortunately for us, obviously we were aware of what was going on and we were able to We were able to in addict and water police there and obviously arrested the elite defenders on the boat.
I think it's worth noting too that this syndicate had previously attempted to pick up from the mother vessel on another small boat and that had broken down. So actually the syndicate had made two attempts to travel to the mother vessel to collect the drugs. The first vessel didn't get very fir and broke down. The second one got out and got most of the way back and broke down.
So again it points to just how dangerous the type of activity is and it's certainly not something we would recommend for anyone to attempt to do.
And you said earlier in the week in the media that that mother vessel is still in the ocean, right, Yeah, Look, what I.
Would say is obviously the source of the cocaine, including the mother vessel and location for which has come from. It's still very much an active line of inquiry to us, and obviously we're still progressing aspects of that. I can't really speak much further on that at this stage.
I'd love to turn then to you know, you mentioned before that this type of operation occurs and then you hope that it takes drugs off the street, and especially of that volume. I was doing a bit of research before this, and you know that's the higher volume of the consumption of everyone in New South Wales for a year, so it's a sizeable amount of cocaine. How do you guys then measure the effectiveness and the quantifiable results of an operation like that in the say, twelve months to come.
I mean, that's a good question, and to be frank, there's not necessarily a lot of science around it, and what we do for a fact is that it will have a significant impact. There's a lot of people who've invested, or we would presume quite rightly have invested a lot of money, who are now out of pocket. So not only as a big hole in Australia's cocaine market, or
anticipated cocaine market which will need to be filled. There will be a lot of people in the criminal networks who have lost a lot of money, so that will have percussions across the wider network. What we do say is, obviously we recognize there is this significant market for a list of drugs in this country. We would hope that, you know, this would provide opportunity for those who are you know, who are impacted by drugs to reconsider and
to seek help. And we're aware that three people hospitalize every day just with cocaine related other doses or injuries. There is a perception about cocaine, but cocaine is a serious drug that causes significant health issues and hopefully this will have an impact and lead people who maybe caipitual users to seek medical help and find a way to deal with that.
And the other thing it might do, of course, is naturally if there's less supply in the market, but you know, increased or sustained demand, the price of cocaine could increase in Australia. Do you hope that there's kind of a tipping point that there's a price that the Australians are not willing to pay for cocaine at a really good point.
I think what we understand is Australian cocaine users pay the highest amongst the highest price in the world for cocaine, So Australian users are paying a lot of money. I would hope absolutely that an impact. Obviously you're the size, as you said, such a massive siege, you will drive the cost of cocaine for hivintally high and maybe that will be an incentive for others to move away from
which is buy very NAT's extremely harmful. And the other part I would say about drugs, it's not just the health issues on the users, but the whole microcosm or ecosystem of crime and criminality that goes around drug use. We're drug sale, drug distribution across the country. So it's not just the impact on the user, it's the ecosystem of crime and organized crime that sustains it, supports it,
and profits off it. And ultimately that's what police and la enforcement agencies are about dealing with.
Stephen. I've just got two more questions for you, and they relate particularly to questions I think I know our audience of young Aussies are thinking. So if we know that there is such a substantive withdrawal of cocaine from the Australian market. But we still feel like we know people around us who are partaking in illicit drug use. How do you feel about the risk then that that's
not cocaine. What more discussions do we need to be having about the fact that if the real products didn't make it, and the sales of cocaine remains the same, that's actually something totally different.
I completely agree. I mean, the reality is that drugs, drugs are adulterated and you don't know what you're using, whether it's cocaine, whether it's a methan fetter, mean, whether it's a exstasy or others. You actually don't know what you're consuming. And I think the removal of this seasure cocaine, it will impact the cocaine market. There may be other drugs that take the place or purport to take the place.
That's something I guess, and it's a health issue of public health issues as well, that drugs by their nature listed drugs, by they're very nature, are not safe to use and you don't know what you're consuming. And ultimately one part of his law enforcement, the other part is health and public knowledge around the risk of taking illicted drugs and when you take something what impact it may have on your health. So law enforcement is one part of the answer. It's not the whole answer, it can't be.
It is also a public health discussion and you know, with your young viewers and listeners, I guess are making informed decisions if you do use I listed drugs what you're actually consuming because it may not be what you're actually thinking.
Do you have a view on pill testing then and cocaine testing?
Look, I don't really to be honest. I mean, it's obviously a matter of debate across the various states and territories across the country, and you know these discussions are very worthwhile discussions to occur, but I personally don't have a view on it one way or the other. Obviously, my role from a policing perspective is to limit the supply of the drugs in the Australia market and that's what we do. But ultimately a policing and law enforcement
is one part of the answer. Issues like that are part of a wider discussion that gets around how to deal with this issue in our society.
Commanded Stephen Jay I've just got one last question in full transparency. When I said to our team here at the Daily Odds that I was chatting to you and if there was anything that they would like to ask. There was one question that came up amongst quite a few of them, which is what do you do with the two point three tons of cocaine?
Now, yeah, it's a good question, and obviously the media reference the fact that on the street the cocaine may have been worth seven hundred fifty million dollars. The reality is that it as it currently stands, it's worth nothing because it's in our custt It will be destroyed. Suffice to say, a large amount of drugs like that is destroyed. Obviously I can't explain how and where it is destroyed, but it will be safefully destroyed in an environment where
it won't cause any harm of the community. So that does occur. It's a significant logistical process and given the nature of it, obviously I can't go into great details, but rest assured it will be destroyed in a safe environment.
Stephen Jay, I really appreciate your time and thank you so much for joining us this morning.
I appreciate it. Thanks very much for the.
Opportunity such a fascinating chat that paints a really clear picture of cocaine news in Australia and what authorities are doing to crack down on it. Thank you, Sam, and thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Daily Oz. We will be back this afternoon with your afternoon headlines. Until then, have a great day.
My name is Lily Madden and I'm a proud Dunda Bungelung carcutting woman from Gadigal Country.
The Daily acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadigal people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torrestrate island and nations. We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.