How Mexican drug cartels are smuggling massive shipments of meth into Australia as they dominate the illicit trade

Mexican drug cartels are pushing tonnes of methamphetamine into Australia, with North American producers overtaking south-east Asian countries as the biggest suppliers of meth.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed this week that at least 70 per cent of Australia's methamphetamine market is now supplied from Mexico, the United States and Canada.

AFP Commander Jared Taggart said methamphetamine was the second most used illicit drug in Australia, with Australians consuming an estimated 10.5tonnes per year.

'Australia is an enticing market for organised crime groups who exploit our people to derive large profits,' Commander Taggart said on Saturday.

Since 2021, the AFP's seizures of south-east Asian-produced methamphetamine in Australia has decreased considerably, and accounted for less than 15 per cent of total methamphetamine seized in 2023.

Commander Taggart said factors which may have contributed to Australia being a target country for North American-produced methamphetamine include cheaper wholesale prices and the Mexican cartels' complex concealment capabilities.

'Additionally, the AFP and our global partners have arrested and prosecuted key members of significant Asian organised crime syndicates in October 2020 and January 2021,' he said.

In 2022-23, the AFP and its foreign counterparts stopped more than 23.6tonnes of meth produced in North America from making it to Australian streets.

This included 4.36tonnes that was seized in Australia.

In that same time period, Australians used 10.5tonnes of the drug, making it the second most consumed drug in the country, according to the National Wastewater Monitoring Drug Program.

Recent intelligence revealed it was cheaper for organised crime gangs to import meth from North America than south-east Asia.

The price for producing one kilogram of meth in Mexico was about $1,000, while in Myanmar prices could stretch from $3,000 to $5,000 for the same amount, authorities said.

'The AFP has a presence in 33 countries and works closely and collaboratively with our south-east Asian and North American law enforcement partners to disrupt methamphetamine trafficking at the source,' Commander Taggart said.

'We will continue to disrupt the criminal environment both onshore and offshore to ensure life-threatening drugs are not entering the Australian community.'

Last August, a massive 10 tonne shipment of liquid methamphetamine headed for Australia was seized by Mexican soldiers who found it in a shipping container loaded with 7,200 bottles of clear liquid labelled as the Mexican alcohol mezcal.

The meth shipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars was found on a Liberian-flagged vessel at the Pacific coast port of Manzanillo. 

According to shipping documents, the container was destined for Australia. 

The Mexican Navy, which has taken over customs duties at some ports, said the shipment contained 9.5tonnes of liquid meth, though the dry weight of the drugs once separated from the solution would be about 5.4tonnes. 

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