By Aidan Wondracz For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 04:13 BST, 12 June 2019 | Updated: 04:25 BST, 12 June 2019
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Authorities have warned Australia to prepare for a new threat from overseas as the country continues its war on drugs.
Cheap synthetic opioids such as fentanyl - which is 100 times stronger than morphone - are being manufactured in China and sneaking past border control through the mail.
Australian National University professor Roderic Broadhurst warned purchasing the drugs was as easy as buying a book online, The Australian reported
He said buyers were using the dark web - a hidden part of the internet where weapons and illicit drugs can be purchased - to buy the synthetic opioids and ordering them to be delivered straight to their home.
'Australia is a good market, because Australians pay a premium for drugs,' he said.
Fentanyl is a prescription drug that is used to treat pain and is about 100 times stronger than morphine.
Cheap, synthetic opioids - such as fentanyl - are being manufactured in China and sneaking past border control through the mail (stock image)
The margin between prescription use and abuse is so small that users are at a higher risk of overdose.
Production comes at a fraction of the price of other painkillers and producers can make millions of dollars from as little as a $5,000 investment.
According to
