ACC chief executive John Lawler warns "the illicit drug market remains the principal source of profit for organised crime".
He said criminals infiltrate sporting clubs and gain information or compromise players in exchange for illicit drugs, such as amphetamines and cocaine, and use it to spot-bet, or fix matches, capitalising on the myriad gambling outlets now available.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton issued a similar warning following the AFL's announcement on Thursday of a more than fourfold increase in the number of positive tests by AFL players for illicit substances.
Ashton said illicit drugs, rather than the performance and image-enhancing drugs that had caught players from Cronulla and Essendon, had a greater potential to compromise the integrity of players and matches.
While PIEDs are banned only for elite sportspeople, illicit drugs involve athletes in criminal activity.
The NRL admits it is sufficiently concerned about the risk of illicit drugs to consider implementing a centralised program of target and random testing.
The ACC's report reveals 76,000 seizures of cannabis, amphetamine-type substances, heroin, cocaine and other substances, together with 93,000 illicit drug-related arrests – both the highest of the past decade.
While cannabis has remained the dominant illicit drug over the past decade, cocaine and amphetamines are the drugs of choice for footballers.
Of the 26 positive tests announced by the AFL last week, 25 were stimulants and none were cannabinoids, compared with six cannabinoids and 12 stimulants in 2005 when centralised testing began.
While cannabis continues to account for more than two-thirds of the number of national illicit drug seizures, it also reveals that for the first time since 2006-07, cannabis did not account for the greatest proportion of the weight of seizures.
Both the number and weight of cocaine detections increased and are the highest reported in the last decade.
Nationally, the price of a gram of cocaine in 2011-12 ranged between $250 and $500.
Professional footballers, with their high incomes, can afford this.
The NRL, which was the first Australian code to centrally test for illicit substances, relinquished authority for this to clubs a few years ago. Each club is required to conduct 70 tests on its players and 70 tests on its National Youth Competition players, with two audits a year from representatives of the NRL and players' association.
While the 2240 tests of the 16 clubs are greater than the AFL's 1979 tests on its 18 clubs, the AFL makes public its number of positives.
The NRL justifies its non-disclosure, pointing out the code has a two strikes policy, compared with the AFL's three.
An NRL spokesman said: "Our policy sees players publicly identified on a second offence and suspended for 12 matches, which could not be more transparent.
"There is no tolerance for any illicit substances, but there is a realisation that these are also player welfare issues and there has to be a focus on education and counselling as well as deterrents."
The NRL has flagged that centralised testing may be restored.
The ACC report follows its nationally hyped February sports report, but the updated volume of PIEDs detected at the Australian border has continued to rise, with an increase of 56.9 per cent in the reporting period.
theage.com.au 20 May 2013
Sport is Australia's institution for the masses.
It is an institution that cannot be disassembled irrespective of how much corruption exists within, be it prostitution, fixing bets, drugs, money laundering, tax evasion or other criminal activities.
The currently named AFL (previously known as the VFL) was created by the authorities to keep the herd population occupied.
The (unwritten) policy is to turn a blind eye to the criminal events within (the) sport.
Footballers are put on a pedestal by the government lap dog, the corporate media, called 'stars' and any wrong doing that may lead to the law courts is either acquitted or a small fine may be put in place.
When a member of the public commits the same crime, they are convicted, heavily fined and in some cases jailed.
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