Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001 - NSW ...

In addition, as we discuss later in this chapter, police and health professionals have also observed that the nature of drug houses in
Cabramatta has also changed. In the words of one health professional, drug houses now tend to look “more normal”. 683 This change
in the nature of drug premises may thwart police attempts to mount operations against them. Moreover, if these premises merge more
harmoniously with their surroundings, they may become more difficult for police to detect in the first place.
7.8.3. Are drug transactions conducted elsewhere
One officer we spoke to believed that higher level drug transactions may now be less likely to be conducted in Cabramatta due to the
intensity of the police focus on drug law enforcement, but that they may be taking place in other areas:
But the business itself of the transactions, are not conducted here, they are conducted elsewhere, because of the high visibility
policing that is conducted in Cabramatta, and they know, that the likelihood of driving up [street name] Cabramatta, and police
know you, you’re going to get turned over, because you’re a drug dealer. 684
In our examination of the uses of the Drug Premises Act by the State Crime Command, it was evident that police were investigating high
level drug supply from drug premises in suburbs neighbouring Cabramatta. Further, according to police, the occupants of these premises
in neighbouring suburbs were supplying drugs to people in Cabramatta. In a police document that related to a use of the legislation
on a premises in a suburb neighbouring Cabramatta, that was occupied by people suspected of involvement in heroin importation, it
was stated that the operation had been formed to “investigate middle to upper level (drug) heroin suppliers in the Cabramatta area”. 685
However, whether these dealers had been displaced from Cabramatta is not known.
Police in Cabramatta believed that the displacement that had occurred recently was different to previous changes in the drug trade
that they had observed. They said that “the displacement with drug houses was only a few streets, now they are broadening their
scope” and moving beyond Cabramatta itself. 686 When asked what evidence indicated that this displacement had occurred, this
officer said that these other LACs were now running controlled operations to target drug dealing. He also said that the “increase in
drug detection in the area [the two neighbouring suburbs] is dramatic”, and that there had been “increased drug users attending”
these suburbs. Another officer said, “I shop in [neighbouring suburb] and I see the dealers that were here, over there”. 687
These officers also provided examples of particular drug offenders they had charged in Cabramatta who had started dealing in
neighbouring suburbs. One detective mentioned two people who had been charged during Operation Hammer which targets street
dealing in Cabramatta:
They got charged in Hammer, they got bail, so they were working on the streets, just doing street deals here, they were living in
[neighbouring suburb] and actually just got a car, and started dealing in [same suburb] in the car, and they got done for supply
there, whilst they were on bail over here. 688
7.8.4. Dealers no longer operating from premises
There is some evidence that some dealers are now choosing not to operate from fixed locations such as a drug premises. 689
Instead, dealers are setting up meetings with drug purchasers, sometimes using mobile phones, on street corners, parks and other
places that are not known for drug supply. Because these locations constantly change, it is less likely that the dealing will attract the
attention of police. According to a local health professional we interviewed, dealers also sometimes use runners who they send out from
the premises to conduct transactions:
Now a drug user would have a mobile number, people don’t go to the door, they have runners and you will meet that person on a
street corner. 690
Another apparent shift in the illicit drug trade is the increased use of cars to facilitate meetings between dealers and users. In a response
to our discussion paper, though not referring specifically to Cabramatta, a senior judge at the Drug Court in Parramatta identified this
characteristic of the illicit drug trade:
683 Interview, Health Worker, 15 September 2003.
684 Focus group, Cabramatta police, 2 July 2003.
685 Situation Report, State Crime Command, Drug Premises Incident 6.
686 Focus group, Cabramatta police, 2 July 2003.
687 Ibid.
688 Focus group, Cabramatta police, 2 July 2003.
689 Interview, Health Worker, 15 September 2003.
690 Interview with health professional who works with drug users in Cabramatta.
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NSW Ombudsman
Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001