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using legally available medicines containing opiates. The homemade heroin is being sold in syringes ready for injection as this method is still the most common means for the taking of illegal opiates in Australia.
24.
While heroin is available in all Australian states and territories, it appears more readily available in the eastern states. Sydney has been identified as the major distribution centre in the country.
25.
Australia, as the largest island or smallest continent in the world, has a coastline of over 20 000 kilometres. Much of this coastline is very sparsely populated as is the interior of this country of 17 million people. These factors make the entry of illicit drugs into remote areas from privately owned boats (such as yachts and fishing trawlers) and privately owned aircraft very hard to detect. This vulnerability of the Australian coastline is of continuing concern to law enforcement agencies.
26.
There appears to be an emerging but very small trend towards illicit cultivation of the opium poppy in Australia. This is indicated by law enforcement agencies' successes in suppressing seed importation and the eradication of a few very small plantations during 1991. While the number of incidents of seized crops of opium poppy have increased, the total number of plants seized is minuscule in terms of the amounts of opium and heroin which might have been produced from them.
Cocaine
27.
For 1991 a total of 74 kg of cocaine was seized by Federal and state law enforcement agencies in 340 seizures. The figures for the first half of 1992, for Federal seizures alone, are 73 kg in 30 seizures. On 27 August 1992 approximately 73 kg of cocaine were seized at premises in Sydney, New South Wales. It is believed the cocaine was purchased in Columbia. This seizure is the largest single seizure of cocaine in the history of Australian drug law enforcement. Cocaine continued to be available in most states except Tasmania and the Northern Territory where it remained scarce.
28.
The retail price of cocaine has ranged from $A 200 - 500 per gram over the past 18 months. This represents a slight increase compared to the 1990 price and is perhaps a reflection of this drug possibly being in competition with
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