The United Nations warns that Mexican drug cartels are targeting criminals in Australia to import ice into the country.
A report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says cartels involved in methamphetamine trafficking have actively sought partners in Australia.
The report says ice usage in Australia has risen to 50 per cent of drug users aged 14 years or older from just 22 per cent in 2010.
UNODC Asia Pacific regional representative Jeremy Douglas said transnational criminal gangs overseeing the synthetic drug trade pose a rising challenge for governments.
An Australian Senate Committee this week reported a sharp rise in smuggled seizures of ice into Australia at 2.9 tonnes in the current financial year, compared with 1.8 tonnes in the previous year.
China is the main source, the committee said.
Seizures of ice - crystalline methamphetamine - in China doubled from 4.5 tonnes in 2009 to 8.0 tonnes by 2013, making up over 50 per cent of seizures in the Asia-Pacific region.
Across Asia-Pacific, ice seizures reached 42 tonnes in 2013 from 11 tonnes in 2008.
Ice was the most frequently seized form of meth with over 1.2 tonnes trafficked from China in 2012-13, with Hong Kong and Thailand also sources in Asia.
Australia and New Zealand are key regional markets in meth trade, which also includes the tablet form.
The report also said Asia-Pacific represents an increasing share of the global ecstasy market, with imports largely from Asia, but also Western Europe, South Africa and South America.
Law enforcement authorities in Australia and Myanmar reported multi-tonne ecstasy seizures in 2014, the report said.
