People living in Sydney’s most exclusive eastern suburbs will be the target of ramped up drug testing, aimed at catching high-flying cocaine users.
Roadside drug testing has previously targeted motorists abusing cannabis, amphetamines, and party drugs including MDMA but until now cocaine users flew under the radar.
Police Minister Troy Grant said New South Wales would be the first state in Australia to conduct roadside cocaine testing, with Sydney’s eastern suburbs the first target.
People living in Sydney’s most exclusive eastern suburbs, including Bondi (pictured), will be the target of ramped up drug testing, aimed at catching high-flying cocaine users
Roadside drug testing has previously targeted motorists abusing cannabis, amphetamines, and party drugs including MDMA but until now cocaine users flew under the radar
Mr Grant said the testing was the start of a crackdown on the rampant cocaine use in Sydney’s prestigious east.
New South Wales police were forced to deploy extra resources to the eastern suburbs in order to deal with partygoers abusing cocaine, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Bondi, Woollahra and Waverley were three of the state’s worst offending suburbs, only after Sydney’s centre itself, the Bureau of Crime Statistics reported.
Mr Grant said the cocaine testing trial would likely be up and running before the end of the year.
Bondi (pictured), Woollahra and Waverley were three of the state’s worst offending suburbs, only after Sydney’s centre itself, the Bureau of Crime Statistics reported
Mr Grant (left) said the testing was the start of a crackdown on the rampant cocaine use in Sydney’s prestigious east
Roadside drug testing has previously targeted motorists abusing alcohol (breath test pictured), cannabis, amphetamines, and party drugs including MDMA but until now cocaine users flew under the radar
Sydney was named the cocaine capital of Australia in a March report that analysed raw sewage to reveal shocking drug trends across the country.
The report took samples from 51 sewage treatment plants across Australia to get a snapshot of over half the population and was released in March.
Sydney snorted double the amount of cocaine of any other capital city, equating to 30 cocaine hits a day per 1000 people compared to the national average of just three per 1000.
‘Cocaine consumption in capital city sites in New South Wales dominated the national landscape, being almost double the next highest region in terms of doses consumed per day,’ the report said.
Mr Grant said the cocaine testing trial would likely be up and running before the end of the year