1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,560 Speaker 1: Now it turns out that someone's rigidly allegedly tried to 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: sell one of those meth lollies on Facebook marketplace. Already 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: the cops are investigating that. So far, they've managed to 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: find twenty nine of the lollies and they're still trying 5 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,880 Speaker 1: to recover the remainder that are out there. Chris Wilkins 6 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: is a massive university drug researcher. 7 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 2: Hey Chris, hi there, how are you going? 8 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: Well? Thank you? Now, why do you reckon that they've 9 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: come from a Mexican drug cartel? 10 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 2: Well, I mean it's all just speculation. I mean, I'm 11 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 2: just putting together a few pieces of the puzzle. So 12 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 2: in Australia they had some very large sieges of liquid 13 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 2: metham fetamine in the last six months, and they've done 14 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:41,160 Speaker 2: some analysis and they're saying that seventy percent of their 15 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:45,639 Speaker 2: methamphetamine now comes from Mexico, Canada or the US as 16 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 2: opposed to the more traditional markets in Southeast Asia. 17 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 1: Apparently the Mecans like putting their drugs in food, Is 18 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: that right? 19 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 2: Yeah? Well, I think the Mexican cartels are particularly innovative 20 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 2: and have experts and smuggling because they have been for 21 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,759 Speaker 2: many decades transporting drugs across the border to the US, 22 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 2: and of course that is incredibly challenging and US drug 23 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 2: enforcement is very diligent. So they've been involved in that 24 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:19,119 Speaker 2: kind of thing for a while, and that there's been 25 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 2: some really maintaintly innovative techniques used of converting metha and 26 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 2: feed amount into liquid, impregnating it in all types of 27 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 2: different products, and then when it gets to the destination, 28 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 2: they break down the products and get the met out again. 29 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: And so how does it then end up at the 30 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 1: Oakland City Mission. 31 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,839 Speaker 2: Well, that's another bit of a mystery. So I'd say, 32 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: I mean, it's pretty clear that what's happened here is 33 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 2: has been some breakdown in terms of so a cartel 34 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 2: or a drug smuggling organization usually gets what they call 35 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 2: a catcher who's just beyond the border and they intercept 36 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 2: that product and then take it out of circulation and 37 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 2: take it back to the gang. And looks like there've 38 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 2: been some kind of breakdown in terms of that person 39 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 2: hunting down this package and taken out of circulation or 40 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 2: you know, or alternatively, it's just just literally ended up 41 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 2: in some household, and those people that live in that 42 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 2: house so I don't realize what that product is. 43 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: Because there was another theory which was positive. That was 44 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: positive rather, and that is that actually it might have 45 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: been taken there deliberately in order to be sold to 46 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: people there, but somehow it's ended up being mistaken for 47 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: what it actually is. 48 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 2: I mean, who knows. I mean, we can speculate kind 49 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:43,839 Speaker 2: of all day. I would say that would be less 50 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 2: likely because honestly, I can't really see why you'd need 51 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 2: to go to all that trouble. 52 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, and belkably, when you're getting it sold, like if 53 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:55,239 Speaker 1: you're going to sell it to somebody, you're not selling 54 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: it in lolly form, right, You're selling it in whatever 55 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: powerful or whatever it normally comes in. 56 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. So the concealing it in those packages 57 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 2: and the legitimate products is really just for the process 58 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 2: of moving it across the border. But once you've got 59 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,639 Speaker 2: it across the border, then you want to because as 60 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 2: has been already been covered, it's quite highly concentrated methamphetamine 61 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 2: and there's three grams of that in one product, and 62 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 2: at retail level, that's not how you sell methm fedamine. 63 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 2: You sell it an zero point one gram kind of points, right, 64 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,639 Speaker 2: and that's two or three hits, so you wouldn't really 65 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 2: sell like three grams and a big lump like that. 66 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 2: So they tend to get quite concentrated because you want 67 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 2: to concentrate as much drug into the smallest package to 68 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 2: reduce the likelihood that that's going to be detected and 69 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 2: taken out of circulation. And then once you get it 70 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 2: over the border, you take it out of the product 71 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 2: and you dilute it again and make it into essentially 72 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 2: the retail saleable amount. 73 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: Chris, how much is a three gram chunk of the 74 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: stuff worth? 75 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 2: Well? Unfortunately, prices of myth have been declining in New 76 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 2: Zealand for a number of years, so now it's something 77 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 2: around three hundred and fifty dollars a gram, so about 78 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 2: one thousand dollars probably. Well, I suppose you. 79 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: Can see why they're trying to sell it on the 80 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: old Facebook marketplace. And hey, thank you, Chris, really appreciate 81 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: your time. That's Chris Wilkins, Massive University drug Researcher. For 82 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,239 Speaker 1: more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. 83 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 1: They'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast 84 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:34,560 Speaker 1: on iHeartRadio.