Charles Passmore, who was arrested in 1928 for cocaine possession. Credit:New South Wales Police A substance usually administered at the hands of pharmacists and dentists, Sydney's crime bosses soon realised the financial potential in the trade of "snow." "An ounce of cocaine purchased from a retail chemist for 22 shillings could be adulterated with boracic acid to make 250 street packets worth five shillings each," wrote Alfred McCoy in his definitive book Drug traffic: Narcotics and organised crime in Australia. Fast forward to August 1980 and a report in the Herald boasted a seizure of "seven kilograms of cocaine" worth more than $3 million from a house in Cremorne. "It was the largest seizure of cocaine made in Australia," the story read.

'Cocaine horrors' story in The Maitland Weekly Mercury on July 8, 1922. Credit:Trove Just 37 years later more than 1.4 tonnes of the white powder would be seized from a yacht off the NSW South Coast. The February 2017 haul was said to have an estimated street value of $312 million. May Smith, who was arrested in 1928 for the supply of cocaine. Credit:New South Wales Police Cocaine, or cocaine hydrochloride, is a purified chemical derived from the leaves of the native South American coca bush Erythroxylum coca.

In its white powdered form, cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant drug, meaning that it accelerates messages that travel between the brain and the rest of the body. The Maitland Weekly Mercury of July 12 1924, covering a cocaine importation story. Credit:Trove Usually dopamine in the brain is released by a neuron, before binding to dopamine receptors on the neighbouring neuron. Once this takes place another protein acts to remove dopamine, so that it can be recycled for later use. Amy Lee, who was arrested in 1929 for cocaine possession. Credit:New South Wales Police

For someone using cocaine, the drug blocks the removal of dopamine, causing it to build up and leaving the person with an immediate sense of euphoria. Some of the earliest writing about the drug dates back to 1884, when Sigmund Freud wrote of "how a small dose led me to the heights in a wonderful fashion." Prior to that chemists in Europe had begun extracting and utilising the drug in their practice. In Australia almost 10 per cent of people aged 14 years and over have used cocaine one or more times in their life, while on average, Australians first try the substance at just over 19 years of age. The figures come from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, which revealed that NSW was home to the highest users of cocaine.

"It's worrying how much of a thirst Australia has for cocaine," said Drug and Firearms Squad commander Detective Superintendent Peter McErlain. "The biggest difference today is there is more available. You go back 10 years and look at detections in Sydney...then you might have got 50-100 arrests in a year. Now we're looking at five to six hundred." On average the drug sells on the street for around $300 a gram, a far cry from the five shillings it cost for a "packet" in the late 1920s (around $19 in today's currency). According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, offences for possession and, or, use of the drug has gone up more than 40 per cent in the past year, as police increase their focus on targeting supply and possession of illicit drugs. In early December police shut down an extensive "dial-a-dealer" cocaine service operating out of Sydney's CBD, arresting more than 30 people associated with the distribution ring.

Among items seized by Operation Northrop were 468 grams of cocaine, more than $120,000 in cash and several mobile phones, the keys to the delivery service that has since been described as "just like" pizza delivery, "only illegal". "Back even 20 years ago there wasn't a sophisticated drug franchise business," McErlain said. "But now organised crime is marketing these franchises, [allowing for] drug runs where groups of organised criminals farm out the product to be sold down the chain." Sydney's cocaine trade began taking shape in the early 1920s, following the First World War. Historian Nerida Campbell says there were two groups of people with a hand in the trade: those who were licensed to sell it, and those who were smuggling it into Sydney on ships.

"The cocaine trade really began with people purchasing it from pharmacists. It was also used as a dental anesthetic...and also by some vets," she said. "At the time you could go and get a prescription, but the pharmacists were rationed a certain amount they could sell each year...they had to know who they were selling it to." Those who lacked a prescription did not need to look far, with many sex workers around Surry Hills and Darlinghurst selling "snow" to supplement their income. Throughout the 20s cocaine was also the drug of choice for inner city dwellers, due to alcohol restrictions that ceased sales from 6pm every night. "For the city's sex workers it provided them with a buzz and possibly the energy to get through long nights. Many became addicted and suffered serious health problems as a result of their drug use," Ms Campbell said.

She recalled the tale of Amy Lee, an inveterate drug addict, who was arrested in 1929 when she purchased illicit morphine in a desperate effort to wean herself off cocaine. Her addiction had become so severe the interior of her nose rotted away and her septum collapsed. By 1928 NSW Police formed the first Drugs Squad of two dedicated officers committed to tackling organised crime and the spread of drugs like cocaine and opium. Today, the same squad numbers more than 100 officers and is known as the Drugs and Firearms Squad, dedicated to investigations into the upper level distribution and manufacture of illicit drugs. "The supply of illicit drugs and associated organised criminal activity is investigated by hundreds of detectives across NSW, which includes local police, Region Enforcement Squads, and other squads within State Crime Command," McErlain said.

"It's hard to say how much of a dent we are making in Australia's drug trade, as we detect cocaine seizure after seizure. What's worrying is what we are not detecting."