New front opens in Australian war on drugs

The Australian Crime Commission has warned of a dangerous new front in the war on drugs as it revealed a record 23.8 tonnes of illicit substances, worth $5 billion, were seized by customs staff last year.

The haul included the highest number of seizures for performance enhancing drugs in a decade - adding further weight to the ACC's bombshell February report which alleged widespread use of drugs in professional sport.

Performance enhancing drug seizures rose 56.9 per cent to 8726 in 2011/12, with 6126 involving steroids and 2600 involving hormones.

Other seizures included a single 11 tonne cache of hypophosphorus acid, a chemical used to make methylamphetamine, a record 785.5 kilograms of cocaine, 256kg of heroin, 347kg of amphetamines and 17kg of cannabis.

There were 93,000 drug-related arrests in 2011/12 - the highest for a decade - and 809 clandestine drug laboratories discovered.

But while the seizure of sports and recreational drugs was welcomed, senior crime fighters also revealed concerns about the increasing popularity of new, synthetic substances mimicking ecstasy, cannabis and amphetamines.

The so-called `drug analogues' are being invented at a rate of one per week in China, India and other countries, according to a recent European Union study cited in the ACC report.

The speed at which these exotic party drugs are being made - including cannabinoids called Voodoo and ecstasy-type drugs `miaow miaow' and `plant food' - is making it difficult for authorities to keep up.

The ACC report said the drugs have been selling for as little as $15 a capsule in Australia.

"I argue that no market is as dynamic as the drug analogues and novel substances market which is changing the illicit drugs landscape as we know it," ACC CEO John Lawler said.

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New front opens in Australian war on drugs