The Futile War on Drugs Continues to Fuel Violent Crime and Endanger the Public

New South Wales police are claiming that recent raids on 20 homes across Sydney in which ‘underworld figures’ are believed to reside has effectively dismantled an alleged organised crime network labelled as ‘The Commission’.

However, there are fears the raids will do little to affect the importation and supply of drugs in our nation, or the associated violently criminal activity in the longer term, with many other individuals and groups lining up to take their place.

And rather than boasting of raids, seizures, arrests and criminal charges, it is argued that the better approach is to move towards a regulated illicit drug market – a move taken by a number of nations including many of the United States (albeit in the context of cannabis) as well as Portugal, Uruguay and Norway, which would potentially save lives by ensuring the quality of illicit drugs, reducing the financial incentives of criminal enterprises and treating addiction as a health rather than criminal law issue, lower enforcement costs, free-up law enforcement agencies and the courts and bring revenue for governments.

The war on drugs is an abject failure, and while police and the mainstream media have marketed the recent raids as well as others in recent years as significant victories, they are at best battle wins in an unwinnable war.

The raids

The New South Wales Police Force, led by the NSW Organised Crime Squad, claims the 20 raids across Sydney on Wednesday, 18 September 2024 have effectively dismantled a major criminal network known as ‘The Commission’, which is alleged to be responsible for the importation and supply of over 1.2 tonnes of cocaine across Sydney.

“The Commission is a group of high-powered, organised crime networks who come together and manipulate the quantities of drugs that are distributed”, New South Wales Organised Crime Squad Detective Superintendent Peter Faux told the media in a statement

The raids led to the arrest of six men and seizure of 20 kilograms of cocaine, as well as cars, cash, 20 firearms and luxury items.

Superintendent Faux said in a statement:

“These people were very structured and organised in what they did … and would never be seen by the people that they were supplying the drugs to.

“These arrests today will result in many criminals becoming unemployed as the large-scale drug supply that finances their crimes dries up.

“For those criminal groups who intend to fill this hole left by yesterday’s arrests, know that we are waiting for you and are fully prepared to prosecute you for any crimes you commit that endanger the public of NSW.”

Those arrested have been charged with a string of offences, including supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, participating in a criminal group and organising, conducting or assisting in organising a drug premises.

The war on drugs continues

But while authorities are yet again claiming a series of raids as a significant victory, the fact of the matter is they have been claiming the same after after major raids for decades, yet estimates regarding the importation and supply of prohibited drugs are at an all-time high and new or reconfigured criminal enterprises form to take the place of those disrupted.

This has led drug law experts including those at the coalface to decry such boastful victories, calling instead for a look at the bigger picture and the fact the drug war is an abject failure – one which continues to dearly cost nations who have been unwilling to embrace reforms involving legalisation or decriminalisation, regulation and looking at drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal law problem – the latter being one whereby our nation continues to pay billions of dollars in enforcement costs, maintains the risks to public safety of organised criminal enterprises, vilifies and stigmatises rather than helps and supports users, and helps to line the pockets of those involved in the justice system – yes, including criminal defence lawyers.

Moving towards a regulated market has seen enormous social, economic and health benefits in several other nations, and there is a strong argument that governments brave enough to embrace such change will be the ones through which their constituents reap the benefits.