The seizure of illegal steriods and pharmaceuticals jumped during the COVID lockdown last year

Steroid seizures jumped 107 per cent in the territory, accompanied by a significant 204 per cent increase in seizure weights.

Collectively described as "performance and image-enhancing drugs" (PIEDs) by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, steroid seizures had been trending down since 2014-15 but the commission's latest 2019-20 report revealed how these pharmaceuticals are back in demand as black market prices have fallen and the pandemic has people seeking quack cures and so-called immunity boosters.

The ACT went from 30 seizures in 2018-19, to 67 the following year, with just over 1.1kg seized, equivalent to thousands of tablets and liquid vials.

However, the data also reveals that only six arrests relating to steroids were made in the ACT during the reporting period, with four being users and two suppliers. All were males.

Steroids are not detected in the commission's regular wastewater analysis.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are commercial derivatives of testosterone, a naturally occurring male sex hormone. Anabolic refers to the muscle-building effects of the drug, while androgenic refers to their masculinising effects. All are designed to modify or interfere with the body's hormonal system.

The drugs are commonly administered as liquid or tablets, injected into the muscle, absorbed using suppositories or cream, gel or patches on the skin, or via nasal sprays. Beta-2 agonists induce both anabolic and body fat reduction effects, with clenbuterol as one of the most commonly abused or misused beta-2 agonists.

During last year's COVID-19 outbreak, when the virus first swept the globe and caused international border shutdowns, the demand for black market, counterfeit medicines, including steroids which were seen as a way of boosting the human immune system to keep the virus at bay, skyrocketed.

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In March last year a global police operation called Pangea, coordinated through Interpol across 91 countries, resulted in 121 arrests and US$14 million in potentially dangerous pharmaceuticals seized from organised crime groups.

Most of the steroids arrived in Australia by international mail (80 per cent), followed by air cargo (18 per cent), and air passenger/crew (2 per cent).

Amphetamine-type substances are now some of the most common and sought-after drugs on the Australian market, with the number of clan labs making methylamphetamine detected in 2019-20 rising for the first time in seven years.

Most of the clan labs (74 per cent) were busted in residential areas.

However, the commission warned in its report that "the number of clandestine laboratory detections is not indicative of production output" as evidenced by the huge volumes of reagents, precursor and solvents seized over the year, all destined for large-scale, clandestine domestic drug production houses.

Some of the volumes seized included three tonnes of methylamine in Victoria, 100kg of pseudoephedrine also in Victoria, and 140kg of iodine in NSW. Iodine crystals are used to produce hydriodic acid, a crucial reagent now highly regulated and hard to obtain but necessary to produce high quality methylamphetamine.

A similar indication of the rise in production activity was the number of tablet presses seized nationally, which increased 61 per cent in the 12 month reporting period, from 18 in 2018-19 to 29 in 2019-20.

There were 108 arrests in the ACT in 2019-20 relating to amphetamine-type stimulants, 117 for cannabis (excluding notices), 26 for heroin and 77 for cocaine.

Possession laws relating to cannabis changed in the ACT partway through the ACIC reporting period. As of January 1, 2020, it was legal for anyone over 18 to possess up to 50 grams of dried cannabis or up to 150 grams of fresh cannabis.

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