Profits 'through the roof' as drug dealers hike prices amid pandemic | sallyrawsthorne
Enterprising street dealers, drug cartels and bikie gangs are some of the unlikely winners of the coronavirus crisis, with illicit substances being sold for up to double the pre-pandemic price - despite the relatively small impact of the pandemic on supply and demand.
While the initial global disruption caused by COVID19 led to a "blip" in supply early on in the pandemic, the rate of illicit substances coming into Australia is "mostly back to normal now," said Det Supt Hunter. Once inside Australia, the distribution of drugs has been somewhat disrupted by increased scrutiny at interstate borders and a decrease in domestic flights.
Since the pandemic began, NSW police have seized more than 420 kilograms of cocaine, a tonne of ice from a yacht near Newcastle and more than one tonne of pre-cursors to ice from a Rockdale business. "That's the stuff that we've got - think about what's come in that we've missed," said one senior police source.
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