STOP-and-search powers, police surveillance and a lack of outlawed bikie clubhouses has helped protect Armidale from the scourge of ice.
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Inspector Roger Best said yesterday out of 100 drug seizures in Armidale over the past year, just two were for ice.
That was partly due to the success of Strike Force Romley, which probed a number of break-and-enters in and around the Armidale area and ultimately led to the arrest of two alleged dealers of the drug, methylamphetamine, Inspector Best said.
“Police targeted the supply of ice in this operation and it proved a success in keeping the city relatively free of the drug,” he said.
Ice is pretty hard core; most students try softer drugs
- Armidale Police inspector Roger Best
But nearby towns such as Moree were struggling with an alarming rise in the number of ice addicts, which ultimately drove up crime, Inspector Best said.
As with Moree, many regional centres across Australia are experiencing a spike in the drug’s use, leading paramedics and health professionals in the Northern Tablelands to warn the problem could become an epidemic to rival the heroin boom of the 1980s.
Centacare New England-North West principal psychologist Josie Hofman said the ready availability of the drug meant it had long overtaken speed as the stimulant of choice for users in Tamworth.
But according to Inspector Best, Armidale has escaped the scourge.
He attributed that success partly to an increase in police conducting stop-and-search surveillance in Armidale, as well as analysing trends in break-and-enters.
“If an ice user is driven to feed his or her habit, we usually see a spike in break-and-enters,” Inspector Best said. “If that happens, we use our contacts to find out what is happening and then act quickly.”
Drug-related crime in Armidale often happened when an addict arrived from outside of town.
Also, outlaw motorcycle gangs had not penetrated the city, with no clubhouses operating.
And while Armidale’s high student population was known to be a market for recreational drugs, Inspector Best said most student shied away from ice.
“Ice is pretty hard core; most students try softer drugs,” he said.
Young people’s lives are being ruined in regional towns because of this drug
- Armidale magistrate Karen Stafford
Nevertheless, police continued to monitor the situation and vowed swift action to ensure Armidale would not succumb to the drug’s clutches.
Meanwhile, a magistrate has told an ice dealer to watch Monday night’s Four Corners program to see how the drug affects the community.
Lance Dixon faced Armidale Local Court on Wednesday to be sentenced for six counts of supply of a prohibited drug, one of which related to an amount greater than an indictable quantity, and a charge of possessing a prohibited drug.
The court heard Dixon and his co-accused Keith Collins were supplying the drug to the community as part of a methamphetamine ring.
The pair was caught supplying drugs on multiple occasions while under surveillance by officers connected to Strike Force Romley and were arrested last August.
Magistrate Karen Stafford was concerned Dixon showed no insight as to how his offending had affected the community.
“Young people’s lives are being ruined in regional towns because of this drug,” she said.
“Young people like you.”
He was sentenced to an 18 month intensive correctional order
The sentence will begin on November 12.