Annual Report - COMPLETE - Australian Crime Commission

• clear evidence now confi rms and links OMCGs to the manufacturing process of
ATS in Australia, with organised and large scale sourcing of precursor chemicals
and pharmaceuticals and the subsequent traffi cking of ATS products in commercial
quantities;
• Queensland Police investigated a person who sourced in excess of 240 kgs of
iodine, an amphetamine precursor, through a company and then diverted the
entire amount to a person linked to a well known OMCG member;
• NSW Police seized 400 litres of sassafras oil from an importing company which
had imported over 2.5 tonnes of the oil over the past two years. Sassafras oil
is an essential precursor used in the manufacture of MDMA. This company has
now voluntarily withdrawn from importing and dealing in this commodity;
• a well known private producer of laboratory glassware was identifi ed and
summonsed to an examination in Queensland. This person admitted that he had
produced and sold 774 reaction vessels to numerous unknown people over an
18 month period. He further admitted to knowingly supplying the amphetamine
industry with glassware for a period of fi ve years. He voluntarily closed his
operation; and
• a total of fi ve people were arrested and seven charges were laid as a result of
Determination activity.
Achievement of these results was greatly assisted by the use of the ACC’s coercive
powers.
Table 3.2: Output 1.2 – AOSD use of coercive powers
Measure Total
s28 Examinations held 110
s29 Notices issued 11
A number of legal and administrative reform issues have been identifi ed and will be
further discussed with ACC Board member agencies and the Commonwealth Attorney
General’s Department. These issues include:
• legislative defi ciencies and non-uniformity throughout jurisdictions relating to
possession and supply of precursor chemicals;
• limited appropriate legislation at a Commonwealth and state level governing
the importation and control of pill
presses and other related laboratory
apparatus including glassware;
• regular non-compliance by chemical
suppliers with the voluntary National
Code of Practice; and
• lack of appropriate ‘children found in
laboratory’ legislation.
44 I ACC ANNUAL REPORT 2003–04
Clandestine laboratory