Social network analysis of Australian poly-drug trafficking networks: How do drug traffickers manage multiple illicit drugs?

•This study examined product diversification amongst syndicates trading in multiple drugs.•The three syndicates all had a clear management structure.•Each employed a different approach to diversifying, including outsourcing or collaboration.•This suggests there will not be one universal method for product diversification.•This may reduce the ease of law enforcement detection and disruption.

International agencies report rising numbers of drug traffickers who deal in multiple drugs (poly-drug traffickers). This paper explores how product diversification is managed in three Australian poly-drug trafficking syndicates. Networks were constructed using judges' sentencing comments and social network analysis applied to examine the degree of specialisation, resource flows and management structure (if any). Each syndicate had a clear management structure, but employed a different approach to diversifying including in-house production of multiple products (Syndicate 1) and outsourcing to other syndicates (Syndicate 3). This suggests traffickers will have multiple avenues for product diversification. This may create challenges for their policing.