Cocaine use doubles across the country

Friday, 12 July 2024

Millions of dollars of cocaine from around the world was unsuccessfully imported into New Zealand.

The use of cocaine – once the drug of choice in the 1980s and 90s – is on the rise and it’s becoming easier to find.

Cocaine use has more than doubled in every region between 2021-22 and 2022-23, according to a report on drug use in Aotearoa.

While use varies around the country the highest was in Auckland which more than doubled last year.

The New Zealand Drug Foundation’s overview from last year said around 1.3% of adults – about 56,000 people – reported using cocaine at least once in the previous year.

On Wednesday a man and woman were sentenced in the High Court in Christchurch for their role in a drug ring that dealt an estimated $45 million worth of cocaine throughout the country.

Cocaine seized in 2023, as part of Operation Hydros, had a street value of more than half a billion dollars.

Now the recently released Illicit Drug Harm Index from the Health Ministry says daily consumption of cocaine has increased by 93% while ecstasy – MDMA – and methamphetamine have seen a decrease.

The index is put together from a combination of sources including wastewater testing, NZ Health Survey, and NZ Drug Trends Survey data for 2022-23.

Men are more likely to use the drug than women.

The anonymouse online NZ Drug Trends Survey for 2022-23 found that cocaine was increasingly available, and that the price had increased compared to previous years.

Tim Chao from the Police’s National Drug Intelligence Bureau said the consumption of cocaine had been gradually increasing over the last two years.

“The increased supply has provided opportunities for some existing users of cocaine to consume more, and for some people to consume cocaine for the first time. Over this period, organised crime groups have become more intent on supplying New Zealand with cocaine, illustrated in multi-kilogram importations.”

New Zealand authorities seized 3.2 tonnes of cocaine afloat in the Pacific Ocean in 2022. The HMNZS Manawanui transported it back to New Zealand.

Customs seizures of cocaine spiked in the first three-quarters of 2023 to 3.59 tonnes – more than three times the total amount seized in 2022 (946kg).

The bulk of that came from more than 3 tonnes of cocaine, worth an estimated $500m, which was seized in the Pacific Ocean as part of a joint Police, Customs and Defence Force operation last year.

Free drug checking volunteer organisation KnowYourStuff general manager Casey Spearin said they too had seen an increase in cocaine availability in the last year. From 20 samples in 2021-22 to 242 samples in 2023-24.

Chao said New Zealand was a desirable market for transnational organised crime groups, partly due to the high price drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine could be sold for.

Using estimated consumption through wastewater testing and the typical price per gram, at least $432mwas spent on methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine in 2023.

New Zealand was often a trans-shipment point and cocaine seized here was frequently destined for other locations, Chao said.

The Illicit Drug Harm Index showed the total cost of personal harm to people who used drugs in New Zealand was now estimated at $844.71m, with a big chunk of that relating to premature death at $427.26m.

Of the illicit drugs included, methamphetamine caused the most harm at $451.26m.

Overall, the estimated harm resulting from the use of Illicit drugs is $1,941.5m compared to the estimate of $1,904.3m in 2020.