Police up-beat about fighting Indigenous substance abuse

The head of Kalgoorlie detectives, in south-east Western Australia, is confident Aboriginal communities will help police track down suppliers of solvents, drugs and other illegal substances.

A three-state/territory strategy to deal with petrol sniffing and associated problems in remote communities was launched in Alice Springs yesterday.

Police from the Northern Territory, WA and South Australia will work together in a bid to stamp out the problem.

Speaking from Alice Springs, Detective Senior Sergeant Bernie Hett says communities across the region are keen to see an end to substance abuse.

"When you're sniffing petrol it damages your brain and it's irreversible ... it puts a huge risk on families and community, so hopefully with this operation we can stamp a lot of this out," he said.

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Pubdate: Fri, 20 January 2006
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia Web)
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