The head of the nation's largest police force has called for a broader conversation about users' insatiable appetite for drugs as investigators claimed victory over a syndicate allegedly controlling Sydney's lucrative cocaine market.
Police raids on a group known as "The Commission" took down a network that allegedly facilitated about 50,000 daily cocaine deals, worth billions of dollars each year.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the busts highlighted the "massive appetite" in Australia's most populous city for the drug.
"That concerns me greatly," she said on Thursday.
“The market is driven by demand ... what we need to have a conversation about is how do we affect demand?
"And that’s a bigger question than just law enforcement."
The Commission's clients included several other networks taking their slice of the city cocaine market, police said.
Unlike alleged drug-dealers taken down in the past, the cohort arrested in raids on Wednesday were believed to be telling the truth about their affiliation with the shadowy but powerful network.
"People claim to be a part of The Commission - and that's generally lies," Detective Superintendent Peter Faux said.
"But the methodology, where these people were clearly dictating the amount of cocaine hitting the streets ... their professionalism and the complexities around this crew is all consistent with being a part of The Commission," he said.
Drugs worth more than $55 million were seized, paling into comparison with the estimated $1.8 billion the group allegedly shipped across NSW between February and July.
Police are already looking at those they expect to take the arrested crew's place.
"That always happens ... we've already started mapping syndicates and understanding organised crime networks who we know are going to fill this void," Det Supt Faux said.
The product was routinely stashed in hidden compartments in cars, while those involved in the transaction minimised face-to-face contact to keep their identities secret.
Wastewater analysis has consistently highlighted Sydney as the nation's cocaine capital, but use of the drug is prevalent across all major Australian cities.
A long-promised, upcoming state drug summit could examine the issue, Ms Webb said, while it also needed to investigate the extent of drug use.
Roadside drug testing and arrests suggested concerning increases in consumption, the commissioner said.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley blamed porous federal borders for drugs coming into Australia, bristling on Thursday at what she perceived as criticism of police when asked how to address community demand for drugs.
She eventually agreed the drug summit needed to look at the issue.
The summit, which will include regional hearings in November followed by Sydney hearings in December, was a Labor election commitment, mirroring a 1999 event that paved the way for the nation's first medically supervised injecting centre.
NSW Police began a joint operation targeting the cocaine syndicate with secretive state and national crime commissions in July, when a 21-year-old man from Sydney's west was charged with commercial drug supply.
The initial arrest put investigators on the trail of other participants in The Commission.
Officers seized 20kg of cocaine, found in a bag thrown over a fence, on Wednesday morning.
Ten cars, $800,000 cash, a Rolex watch, guns, "homemade" ballistic vests and electronic devices were seized during the raids across southwest Sydney.
The otherwise ordinary cars had been modified with sophisticated hiding places, including one that held up to 10kg of cocaine, Det Supt Faux said.
Six men were arrested and charged with drug supply, proceeds of crime and criminal group offences following the raids.
The group's 25-year-old alleged director, Jibreel Bakir, was refused bail when he faced court on Wednesday.
Five others were due to face court on Thursday.
