THE bedrooms of family homes are being turned into drug dens by teenagers and young adults relying on nothing more than an internet connection to run their illicit operations.

These bedroom dealers, in many cases still living with mum and dad, are increasingly becoming ensnared in WA Police operations designed to stop the importation of illicit drugs bought through the “dark web” — an anonymous online black market and criminals’ playground.

Seasoned detectives kicking down the door of suspected dealers are accustomed to finding drugs, cash and the odd weapon — but confused pyjama-clad parents are a new and surprisingly common phenomenon.

Serious and organised crime squad Det-Supt Kim Massam said the dark web was increasingly attracting “cleanskins” — people without a criminal history — to the shady world of drug importation.

Last year, WA Police intercepted more than 3500 domestic packages containing drugs bound for homes across the State. Sting operations to net the intended recipients have landed young people from respectable suburbs across the city in prison, even if it is their first offence.

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission data shows the scale of the scourge: in 2016-17, 99.2 per cent of attempts to import MDMA into the country were by international mail.

The numbers are as alarming for cannabis (98.8 per cent), cocaine (94.3 per cent), heroin (87.7 per cent) and amphetamines other than MDMA —including meth — at 90.6 per cent.

What starts as a small order of one or two hits often expands to satisfy the demand of friends and acquaintances — and the greed of the dealer.

Prices vary by purity but discounts are often offered for bigger amounts and before long orders are being placed for trafficable quantities of drugs carrying jail terms of up to 25 years.

“We are seeing, particularly in the meth transport world, a number of first offenders that have very limited prior criminal activity becoming involved in serious drug distribution,” Det-Supt Massam said.

“The biggest concern for me is that we have people who have previously not had access to the more traditional drug dealer finding opportunities to buy anonymously and then become dealers themselves.

“They are very quickly entering into a market where previously you had to establish a footprint and an association with other illegal entities, criminal entities.”

Freed from the intimidating prospect of having to deal face-to-face with traditional drug operations, often helmed by outlaw motorcycle gangs, young people buying drugs for personal use through the dark web often find themselves on a slippery slope to prison.

“I haven’t seen a mum and pop-type operation but we have seen younger men and women that would not necessarily be your stereotypical drug dealer (becoming involved in distribution),” Det-Supt Massam said.

“During two recent operations run by Perth detectives regarding the nightclub industry what we saw was kids, 19 or 20-year-old uni students, buying gear, sourcing gear and selling gear.

“When we executed search warrants on the homes of what I would think were normal, law-abiding families, it was a fair shock to mum and dad when their front door went in and detectives were there suggesting their children had sold MDMA in nightclubs.

“I think it put a lot of people on notice about the potential risk that exists through the dark web and importing gear into our country.”

Camera Icon Detective Superintendent Kim Massam from the Organised Crime Division with some of the drugs seized. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper

To help on that front, The Sunday Times can today reveal the McGowan Government has spent $712,000 buying three new meth enforcement vans that will be deployed across regional WA targeting suspected drug transit routes as part of the Meth Border Force.

Each caravan is equipped with high-tech drug-detection devices and specialist communications equipment, allowing police to deploy faster and remain in remote locations longer.

Hand held X-ray devices that can pierce car bodies are currently out to tender.

WA Police already owns a bigger transportable X-ray machine that is deployed daily at postal and freight hubs scanning packages for illicit substances.

Police Minister Michelle Roberts said the latest purchases were part of the Government’s $104 million crackdown on the distribution of drugs through the Meth Border Force.

“There is some pretty inhospitable terrain out there that is a long distance from any services at all and operating out of a car is a long way from ideal,” Ms Roberts said.

“We know from recent wastewater testing that there are still challenges with meth in regional WA and this new equipment will go a long way to disrupting the movement of meth into regional communities.”

Det-Supt Massam said the combination of the dark web and organised crime outfits importing big amounts of drugs from a “golden triangle” of countries in South-East Asia including China, Vietnam, Myanmar and India meant the number of small-scale home-based meth labs had declined.

“Certainly in the past meth domestic picture there was a greater emphasis on addiction-based labs — in other words addicts cooking meth themselves,” he said.

“What ultimately happens is because there is such a supply of meth in the purest form available, if you try to sell meth that was made in a (home lab) and cut, you just wouldn’t sell it.”

First ‘dark-web’ drug charge in WA

Police have charged the first West Australian suspected of operating a dark-web based business from his bedroom as part of a nationwide sting to snare dealers peddling their deadly wares online.

In a week-long show of force, authorities have targeted airports, post offices and transport hubs to intercept packages containing drugs — often ordered through the dark web — bound for homes across the country.

Concluding today, Operation Vitreous has already netted steroids, MDMA, weapons, ammunition and more than $220,000 in cash.

It is a massive blow to criminals relying on Australia Post and courier companies to carry out their dirty work — and a stark warning to anyone considering ordering drugs online.

On Wednesday, police arrested a 25-year-old Seville Grove man they suspect was running a WA-based steroid operation using the dark web.

Serious and organised crime squad Det-Supt Kim Massam said it was the first time police had charged someone in WA they believed to be both receiving and then on-selling illicit substances through the dark web.

“This person was importing the steroids and then selling them, in essence creating a dark web-orientated business,” Det-Supt Massam alleged.

“He would buy in bulk and bring the gear into Australia and then distribute it locally. It is the first time we have seen locally based crooks using the dark web like that and he has no gang affiliations as far as we are aware.”

Along with the steroids, police also found ammunition, weapons and small amounts of MDMA and LSD.

Two days earlier, police arrested a 35-year-old Thornlie man with 1.7kg of MDMA that originated from the US and was intercepted by Border Force.

WA detectives were on hand to follow the delivery — the illicit drugs substituted — through the door. Inside they found $220,000 in cash.

Last Friday, about half a kilo of meth and $500,000 in cash was seized.