NSW Police and Crime Stoppers have launched a new advertising campaign aimed at mobilising the community in the fight against Ice (crystal methylamphetamine) - which, anecdotally, is said to be a growing problem at Nambucca Heads.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, Deputy Premier and Police Minister Troy Grant and NSW Crime Stoppers CEO, Peter Price, acknowledge the community has a vital role to play to help police shut down drug supply syndicates.
Comm Scipione said the campaign will remind residents of the far-reaching effects one call to Crime Stoppers can yield.
“Please do not underestimate the immensely positive impact one anonymous call to Crime Stoppers can make,” he said.
“In September 2012, a single, anonymous call to Crime Stoppers led to the seizure of 585 kilograms of ice. Make no mistake about it: this call stopped millions of deals from making it to the street, preventing untold harm, and, no doubt, saving countless lives.
“Since the beginning of 2013, we have shut down and dismantled more than 250 clan labs and seized more than one-and-a-half tonnes of methylamphetamine. Anonymous calls from members of the public played a critical role in helping us close many of those labs and seize many of those drugs.
“This new campaign is all about encouraging more people to make the call.
“If you see something you’re concerned about, please let us know. Your information could help us smash apart an ice supply syndicate and directly prevent many thousands of lives from being destroyed by drugs.”
Deputy Premier Grant welcomed the campaign, and encouraged communities around the State to band together and get behind the drug reporting initiative.
“Ice is an addictive, destructive and immeasurably dangerous drug that is devastating individuals, families and communities,” Mr Grant said.
“As officers in the police force regularly remind us, the production, sale and use of ice spans the entirety of NSW, infecting towns, suburbs and cities in the north, south, east and west.
“Your anonymous call could rid a rural community of its local ice dealer, it could bring down a major drug supply syndicate or it could save a young child from the abuse and neglect that life in a drug-house often entails.”
Mr Price reassured would-be callers that their information would be treated in the strictest confidence.
“We don’t need to know your name, we don’t need to know where you are calling from; all we need is the information you have to hand,” Mr Price said.
“We can pass this information on to investigators and they can use it in their efforts to combat drug crime. It may just be the missing link they need to crack open a complex case.
“Rest assured, your information will be treated in the strictest confidence and your anonymity is guaranteed.”
* Anyone with information in relation to drug crime can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333-000.
