Source: Sydney Morning Herald Contact: http://www.smh.com.au/ Pubdate: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 Author: Greg Bearup DRUG DEALING "WORSE THAN EVER" Senior NSW detectives are claiming that poor management by the Police Service has been partly responsible for drug dealing in Kings Cross flourishing to a level that business leaders say is worse than before the NSW Police Royal Commission. Dozens of dealers are now openly selling drugs on the street around Darlinghurst Road and adopting techniques first used in Cabramatta - selling small quantities of heroin and cocaine concealed in balloons. Dr Raymond Seidler, a GP who has had a practice in Springfield Avenue since 1978, says he had never seen as much open dealing as now goes on in Kings Cross. "In many ways things were better before the Royal Commission," Dr Seidler says. "I thought at one one stage that things would change, that they would get things to an acceptable level, that Kings Cross would become a great suburb to live and do business in. "Now I walk out my door and see people dealing drugs openly and users pissing and shitting in the street, and the police don't seem to be doing too much about it." According to a senior NSW detective, part of the problem dates from the disbandment of the elite unit, Task Force Bax, late last year following revelations in the Police Integrity Commission involving a small number of task force members. While three members of the task force were charged with giving false or misleading evidence, the 30-strong unit of detectives had been extremely successful in "picking off" some of the major dealers and their associates. It allowed the detectives from Kings Cross to focus on the street-level dealers. In its 18 months of operation, Bax detectives arrested more than 80 people, including a number named in the royal commission as being major dealers, and 20 for offences that carry a life sentence. "In my opinion the senior management have turned a blind eye to the Cross," a senior detective said. "They disbanded Bax but they didn't replace it with anything as effective and the local blokes haven't got the resources to be chasing the bigger fish. That eventually filters down to the streets and now the whole thing is out of control." The Herald understands that there is a covert unit examining some of the bigger players in Kings Cross but that unit has had to "start from scratch" in gathering information and recruiting informants. Insiders claim that the response following the closure of Bax was neither swift nor adequate. The commander of Kings Cross patrol, Superintendent Ray Adams, says he is "very much aware" of street dealers and many arrests have been made in the area. Overall, crime in the Kings Cross area was down significantly, particularly break and enters, theft, assaults and car theft, and drug arrests were up. Police had aggressively policed the night clubs and strip clubs in the area and a number of clubs had lost their licences and were facing fines of more than $1 million. The heavy policing of the clubs and strip joints had driven the dealing to the streets. "Our biggest problem is that there is a huge demand for drugs and nothing we do reduces that demand," Superintendent Adams said. Last week the Herald observed about a dozen dealers coming and going from around the public telephone boxes in Springfield Mall, dealing openly with clients in the street. Dr Seidler says: "I get tourists and backpackers come into my clinic from all over the world and I don't think it leaves a very good impression with them that every time they leave their hotel or hostel someone is badgering them to buy drugs." - --- Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson