Joe Trinder

Methamphetamine is evil incarnate one of the parasites of poverty and about the worst scourges to afflict New Zealand since the Neo-Liberal sell off of state owned assets and the colonial land grab committed during the 1800’s. The meth trade has destroyed entire communities and countless peoples lives while literally destroying hundreds of homes through contamination during the manufacture process.

Recently MP Judith Collins placed the blame on three gangs for “P” methamphetamine trade. As a political agenda Collins is attempting to paint a picture of boogeymen selling Meth to affluent school children in wealthier suburbs.

A key ingredient in the productions of Methamphetamine is Ephedrine and is not manufactured in New Zealand. Ephedrine is being smuggled into the country from mainland China by international drug cartels that use New Zealand gangs to cook and distribute the drug. With out Ephedrine making it past our borders the gangs have no ingredients to cook methamphetamine.

Collins is setting up a new multi-agency Gang Intelligence Centre to target the gangs and their families that are low level operatives in an international drug trade. The reason she refuses to go after the international drug cartels is because they resemble the type of business people she affiliates with like Oravida. Collins also wants to drum up more customers to incarcerate in prisons operated by her  favourite British based company Serco.

Collins has no intention of stemming the flow of Ephedrine crossing our borders from mainland China. This could be built into our FTA with China that local law enforcement closely monitoring exports to New Zealand . Of course the only white powder New Zealand exports to China is infant formula so this being a reciprocal agreement would be alot easier for border security in our ports.

In the 1980’s United States government couldn’t control the illegal cocaine drug trade in Miami Florida arresting small time dealers was an exercise in futility. The US Drug Enforcement Agency went after the Medelin cartel in Colombia and Pablo Escobar was captured. Unless the New Zealand government can stop Ephedrine at the source money is going to continue to flow off shore to drug cartels.

Collins approach is doing a  dis service to law enforcement and the victims of methamphetamine drug abuse by only acknowledging the Mongrel Mob, Black Power and Head Hunters as being the only link in the chain of illicit Meth trade. A realistic solution is to focus on working with Chinese law enforcement to stop smuggling of Ephedrine from Chinese ports and setting up a new Drug Cartel intelligence centre that investigates the corrupt officials that turn a blind eye too Ephedrine being shipped to New Zealand.