Australia’s appetite for cocaine is notorious. It's often claimed to be Australia's "drug of choice", but in actuality, it's not.
In any case, the cocaine trade in Australia is distinct. And turf wars between organised crime gangs are seeing an uptick in violence - one that it experiences every few years.
In June, a flashy gangland figure was gunned down on a weekday morning in a car park in Sydney's Bondi Junction. A string of other shootings followed, and by late July NSW Police had announced a special task to investigate how the violence, drug trade, and the people targeted might be connected.
As attention is being cast on Australia's cocaine market, with many claiming that we are the world's biggest users of the drug, the reality is not so clean-cut.
Is Australia really the biggest user of cocaine per capita?
It's complicated.
One of the most-referenced data points comes from Australia's National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, which samples the toilet water of 27 countries around the world to detect substances.
Australia is 18th on the list. It's topped by Belgium, followed by the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Denmark.
Estimates from data “provide the most comprehensive, empirically-based insights” into Australian drug markets, the report from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) states. It's the primary report used by the AFP and NSW Crime Commission to measure how Australia stacks up globally.
Kirsty Schofield, the Assistant Commissioner, Crime Command at the Australian Federal Police said, "we have a huge appetite for cocaine, as far as per capita - no, we're not the highest ... for countries that actually do similar reporting."
The findings from wastewater analysis.
But the 2023 UN World Drug Report said the past year's use of cocaine in the Australia and New Zealand subregion is the highest in the world.
The report found that most Australians who used the drug were "occasional users" and people in other countries - with an overall lower per capita rate - are actually using more frequently.
Another measure of drug use in Australia comes from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's National Drug Strategy Household survey.
Figures from its latest survey, released in 2020, showed the percentage of people who had used cocaine within the year had risen to 4.2 per cent of the population (over 14), up from 2.5 per cent in 2016.
Why are we hearing about cocaine more than meth or MDMA?
The wastewater report shows methylamphetamine - known as ice in its crystal form - is actually the most consumed drug in Australia per capita, placing it third of those countries monitored.
And data from the latest UN World Drug Report said people in the Australia and New Zealand region used more ecstasy than any region.
There are a few reasons why cocaine takes the spotlight, though.
Hany Elbatoory, the Director of Criminal Investigations at the NSW Crime Commission, which investigates organised and other serious crime in the state, told The Feed, “If you consider usage, there is a disproportionate focus on cocaine.
“If however, you look at where the profits are coming from in organised crime, and where has there been the largest increase worldwide in manufacture and distribution - the biggest increase…in importation and consumption has been cocaine.”
Elbatoory is increasingly dealing with importations, and in that respect, he said the attention is justified.
“We've seen larger sizes of imports than we've ever seen before,” Elbatory said.
In March this year, a joint effort between the US and Australia saw authorities pull off one of the biggest-ever drug seizures seen by Australia, intercepting 2.4 tonnes of cocaine.
“When the profit is heightened for a particular commodity, any conflict will generally see a heightening of the violence.”
Officers standing by bags containing 560kg of cocaine found at a property about 570km north of Perth, Western Australia on 11 August. Source: AAP / AFP
In Colombia, which manufactures 70 per cent of the world's cocaine, a gram can cost just $10.
Elbatoory, who has worked in law enforcement for over 30 years, said the exorbitant price undeniably makes Australia a lucrative market.
“Where there's increased profit, people are taking risks; that's another indicator [of the growing market],” Elbatory said, referencing the specialist diver who drowned in Newcastle harbour trying to retrieve cocaine from a ship last year.
And this will probably see more cocaine directed our way.
Earlier this year, Shane Neilson, a principal adviser at the ACIC, said it's likely that cocaine trafficking groups, “collectively are attempting to supply as much, or perhaps more, cocaine to Australia than has ever been the case.”
Elbatory adds that even with a lot of cocaine seizures being made, what they're noticing is that the street value is actually getting cheaper, meaning the industry likely isn't suffering a huge supply blow from the drug busts.
Why Australians gravitate to cocaine
The typical cocaine user in Australia has a well-established profile. They make reasonable money, are most likely in their 20s, and are probably from Sydney.
Schofield, who works with other countries in her role at the AFP, wonders if Australians know what goes into their cocaine.
"I can't help but think that because it's white, there is an association that it's pure," Schofield told The Feed.
But it’s not. And to get the powder, petrol, kerosene, sulphuric acid and acetone are all ingredients that can be doused on the coca leaf to make it into cocaine.
A worker stirs a mixture of water, kerosene and sulphuric acid in a "laboratory" where coca leaves are processed into coca paste. Source: Getty / Edinson Arroyo, DPA
"Cocaine users generally have a little bit more money; they're quite happy to go in with reusable coffee cups to get their cappuccinos because they're environmentally aware - yet cocaine production, what it does to the environment is disastrous."
Despite the drug having the potential to cause psychosis, stroke, heart attack, and kidney failure, Schofield says cocaine still exists on a pedestal.
"When you use meth there is a visible change in your appearance that is not necessarily the same as cocaine."
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation, a non-government organisation that aims to minimise alcohol and drug harm in Australia, says the low unemployment rates are likely contributing cocaine's prosperity in Australia.
The ADF's evidence manager, Eleanor Costello, said: “Australia has the lowest unemployment rates we’ve had in years and for most of their age groups in a lifetime and we've come out of a very unusual period.”
Costello said it's important to contextualise the usage figures, noting that 16 per cent of that 4.2 per cent of Australians who had used in the were using cocaine regularly. Most users are "occasional".
Cocaine possession charges in NSW - the state using cocaine the most - are the highest they've been since 2013, after taking a slight dip in 2020. About 2500 people were charged last year.
Cocaine possession charges in NSW - where the drug is most popular in Australia - are on the rise.
"There's quite a lot of Colombian police officers currently missing in action due to their work in trying to stamp out drug labs," she said.
"There's a lot of violence offshore that's associated with it."
