Australians are using more crystal methamphetamine imported from Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand as enforcement activities restrict the supply from China.
The Australian Federal Police was asked for an update on their attempts to disrupt the flow of ice into the country at a Senate committee hearing on Monday.
Officers said their work with Chinese police had been highly successful, but rather than reducing the amount of the illegal drug coming into the country, other countries were filling the gap.
AFP Deputy Commission Neil Gaughan said much of the supply had now been “displaced” to northern Myanmar.
The agency said it was working to disrupt the trade in Myanmar too, but warned further successes in the South East Asian nation might just move the problem elsewhere.
“The concern there, of course, is if we continue to be successful, there will just be further displacement,” Deputy Commissioner Gaughan said.
He said South American countries, especially Mexico, were also supplying more ice.
A 2018 government analysis of wastewater showed ice was the most-consumed drug in Australia – but the tests did not monitor cannabis, which ranks as the most popular in other studies.
Police said ice use was particularly prevalent in regional areas.
