12:00 AM PST (September 26, 2025) - N.S. EIC

In 2025, Australia’s methamphetamine market is booming, and so is the resistance against it. Despite rising demand and a 34% surge in consumption of meth, cocaine, MDMA, and heroin compared to the previous year, law enforcement agencies are doubling down on efforts to keep meth out of the country. The message is clear: the drug trade may want more meth, but Australia isn’t letting it in.

Recent operations led by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), in partnership with agencies across Southeast Asia, the United States, and New Zealand, have intercepted massive meth shipments before they reached Australian shores. In one case, traffickers embedded meth inside 32 tonnes of paraffin wax, hoping to sneak it past customs. Authorities tracked the shipment for months, substituted the drugs, and seized the consignment upon arrival.

Another operation disrupted a transnational syndicate routing meth through Singapore and New Zealand. Intelligence sharing led to the seizure of over 40kg of meth hidden in furniture and food shipments bound for Australia, worth an estimated AUD$37 million on the street.

While law enforcement is successfully choking off supply routes, demand continues to climb. Wastewater analysis shows Australians consumed 22.2 tonnes of illicit drugs in a single year, with meth accounting for nearly 80% of the total street value. This imbalance creates a volatile market, where organized crime adapts quickly, using more sophisticated concealment methods and global courier networks.

Authorities warn that meth’s impact goes far beyond addiction. It fuels organized crime,

Australia’s Meth Crackdown: The Drug Trade Wants More, But Authorities Say “Not Today, Satan”

In 2025, Australia’s methamphetamine market is booming  like a backyard barbecue with no sausages, just syringes. Despite a 34% surge in consumption of meth, cocaine, MDMA, and heroin (and a national mood that screams “I need something stronger than coffee”), law enforcement agencies are doubling down on their favorite pastime: intercepting drugs and issuing stern press releases.

The message is clear: the drug trade may want more meth, but Australia is fresh out of patience and paraffin wax.

In one thrilling episode of Border Force: The Musical, traffickers embedded meth inside 32 tonnes of paraffin wax, hoping customs officers would mistake it for a candle shipment destined for a nationwide vigil. Authorities tracked the shipment for months, swapped the drugs with decoy sadness, and seized the consignment upon arrival, proving once again that Australia’s best detectives are also part-time chemists.

Another sting operation disrupted a transnational syndicate routing meth through Singapore and New Zealand, cleverly hidden inside furniture and food shipments. Because nothing says “family dinner” like a meth-stuffed meat pie and a coffee table that doubles as a crime scene. The bust netted over 40kg of meth, worth AUD$37 million, roughly the cost of a Sydney apartment with no plumbing.

Wastewater analysis revealed Australians consumed 22.2 tonnes of illicit drugs in a single year, with meth accounting for nearly 80% of the total street value. That’s not just a statistic, it’s a cry for help disguised as a plumbing problem. Organized crime is adapting fast, using global courier networks, encrypted furniture, and possibly carrier pigeons with tiny backpacks.

“We are targeting the root of the problem, serious organised crime networks,” said AFP Commander Kate Ferry, while standing in front of a pile of confiscated beanbags. “It takes relentless surveillance, strong international relationships, and an unwavering commitment to keep Australians safe from the growing threat of illicit drugs.”

Translation: We’re doing our best, but the meth keeps showing up like glitter at a craft store, everywhere, impossible to clean, and somehow in your hair.