NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe today said the owners of a tobacconist in Kurri Kurri will face legal action following a raid by Fair Trading officers that uncovered a range of synthetic drugs still being sold despite being banned across the country.

Fair Trading officers raided the business yesterday after a tip off that it was continuing to sell synthetic drugs to a local teenager.

Products confiscated include around 200 packets of varying quantities of synthetic drugs, mostly cannabinoids and bath salts, including Black Widow and White Revolver.

NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe also announced the results from Operation Salt 2, the second phase of the agency’s assault on synthetic drugs that followed a NSW interim ban announced by Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts on 9 June and a subsequent national interim ban on 18 June.

During Operation Salt 2, Fair Trading investigators visited 38 sellers of synthetic drugs. Officers attempted to purchase synthetic drugs at all locations. All but one of the traders visited were found to be abiding by the national interim ban but most indicated they would return stock to sale if the ban is not made permanent.

Stores were visited in Penrith, Werrington, Werrington Downs, Mt Druitt, St Marys, Kingswood, Newcastle region, Muswellbrook, Singleton, Tamworth, Maitland, Cessnock, Rutherford, Kurri Kurri and Belmont. The NSW interim ban was introduced due to incidents of harm and fatalities related to the use of synthetic drugs.

In the first week of the NSW interim ban Operation Salt 1 targeted 1,044 traders across the state and sixty-five traders were found still selling or stocking synthetic drugs. Traders targeted in Operation Salt 2 told Fair Trading the threat of significant penalty was the primary reason they were complying with the ban.

The national interim ban that commenced on 18 June 2013 is in place for 60 day from that date or 120 days if the ban is extended by the Commonwealth Minister. The 19 consumer goods and equivalents named in the ban are believed to be three synthetic cocaine products and 16 synthetic cannabis products.

Fair Trading will continue visiting traders and is monitoring websites that were advertising banned products. After the NSW ban, a number of websites disappeared or ceased selling banned products to people in NSW.

Six websites were referred by NSW Fair Trading to Australia’s Domain Name Administrator to be deleted for being reasonably suspected of offering banned products for sale:

  • rushpoppershop.com.au
  • rushshop.com.au
  • onlinesmoke.com.au
  • whitebullshop.com.au
  • white-bull.com.au
  • wickeddeals.com.au

Those websites have now been removed.

A supplier who fails to comply with the ban may be found guilty of a criminal offence. The maximum fine is $220,000 for an individual or $1.1 million for a body corporate. Civil penalties for the same amounts also apply.

Suppliers must notify the Commonwealth minister within two days of becoming aware that a person suffered serious injury, illness or death associated with a consumer good or product-related service they supplied either in Australia or overseas. A supplier who fails to notify the Commonwealth minister within two days of becoming aware of the incident may be found guilty of a criminal offence.

Image of products seized

Image of products seized

Image of products seized

Image of products seized

Above: Images of products confiscated during the raid

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