Drug Screening |
Drug smugglers will go to
great lengths to get their products into Australia. It seems they
will also try equally hard to get drug precursors like ephedrine into
the hands of those who need the right supplies to manufacture ice
(methamphetamine or crystal meth) and other drugs. That is not
surprising given the increase in drug use by Australians. However, it
is often surprising what smugglers choose to hide the drugs or drug
precursors in as they try to escape detection by customs officials.
The variety of hiding
places and the ingenuity of drug smugglers is a sad commentary for
Australia. Smugglers would not risk detection if they thought they
would have trouble selling the drugs or if there was not a lot of
money to be made by helping people get addicted. What can employers
learn from smugglers? They can take note of the fact that people with
addictions will attempt to hide their drugs in unusual and unexpected
ways. Looking at some of the ways drugs were hid in 2013 is
eye-opening and a reminder that due diligence in maintaining a
substance free workplace requires a quality drug & alcohol testing program and a good understanding of the level
of desperation people reach as they strive to maintain their
addictions.
Vanilla Powder to
Steering Wheel Locks
In
October 2013, an enormous shipment from India, containing precursor
substances used to manufacture ice, was discovered. This was the
second such shipment discovered that month, making Australians wonder
how many drugs had made it into the country undetected. The first
seizure consisted of vanilla powder that was mixed with
pseudoephedrine. A large ephedrine shipment in September, also from
India, was hidden in rice. Though the recent shipments are believed
to have been initiated by a Canadian-based international crime
syndicate, the people arrested most recently when the shipments were
confiscated included Australians, Indians, and Canadians, reflecting
the global nature of drug smuggling.1
Putting the ephedrine in
vanilla powder is obviously an attempt to hide the illicit
substances. The police are not sure if the same syndicate would have
manufactured the ice or if it intended only on selling the
pseudoephedrine to people running meth labs. Over 18 months, more
than two tonnes of drugs or drug precursors were seized. Vanilla
powder sounds innocuous and obvious at the same time. However, there
have been a number of inventive ways drugs and precursor chemicals
have been hidden in an attempt to get them into Australia.
The
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service could undoubtedly
tell some interesting stories about drug smuggling. In 2013, the
desperate attempts to hide drugs led to the use of unusual items. The
agents found drugs in artificial flower arrangements, a baby’s
pram, a fax machine, a coffee machine, suitcases, and in shipments of
bolt cutters, bathroom titles, and much more. Ephedrine was found
hidden in steering wheel locks in consignment shipments coming from
Ireland, China, India, and Hong Kong.2
Desk Drawers to Coffee
Cans
Large, legitimate
manufacturers and imports/exporters have learned from these busts and
perform their own security checks to ensure workers do not add
anything to shipments that could get employers into trouble. However,
all employers should be aware of the fact that workers determined to
smuggle drugs into the workplace or to use drugs whilst working, will
go to equally great, though smaller, efforts to hide the drugs. They
have been hidden behind desk drawers, in empty fluid cans, in cans
filled with coffee, computers, supplies orders, customer shipments,
and so on. Awareness and knowledge are two of the most powerful tools
for maintaining a substance free workplace, and the random drug and
alcohol testing program contributes to
increasing both.
No one knows what 2014
will bring in the way of innovative drug smuggling efforts. What is
known is that the more successful Australian federal officials are at
catching these illicit shipments, the more creative smugglers get.
Australian employers need to ensure their drug and alcohol policy is
regularly updated and that the testing program uses high quality
supplies and screening services. They also need to stay alert for new
drug trends and smuggling strategies.
Mediscreen
(mediscreen.net.au)
is a NATA accredited onsite drug and alcohol
collecting agent and screening service offering technologically
current equipment, supplies, and procedures. Employers serious about
maintaining a substance free workplace will find Mediscreen’s
services to be invaluable to their efforts.
This article has been taken from: http://www.mediscreen.net.au/how-did-they-hide-drugs-in-2013/
No comments:
Post a Comment