Authorities on High Alert After Record Ketamine Bust

Australian authorities are on high alert following their seizure of a record amount of ketamine attempting to enter the country, amid a significant surge in illicit demand for the addictive sedative. The use of ketamine—a sedative that can cause disorientation, memory loss, depression, seizures, and death—has quadrupled in the last seven years among people over 13, with 900,000 people having tried it in their lifetime in Australia. Authorities seized 882 kilograms (1,945 pounds) of the anaesthetic in 2023, double the 415 kilograms in 2022. This included 84 kilograms hidden in two commercial vans on a cargo ship to Sydney, 80 kilograms concealed in 40 buckets of coating sent to Melbourne, and another 65 kilograms buried near Geelong....