PORT PHILLIP: 94 drug arrests at St Kilda
New crime data reveals Victoria Police arrested almost 100 people for drug offending in St Kilda last year, as detectives continue to target traffickers peddling illicit substances.
In 2024, St Kilda police arrested 94 people allegedly involved in drug crime a total of 96 times – equivalent to around two people each week.
These arrests often included drug manufacturers, dealers, and traffickers, with 40 charged with serious offences attracting significant jail time.
Local police are running a range of operations across St Kilda, including Acland, Carlisle and Fitzroy Sts.
These operations include a mix of plain clothed patrols and drug detection dogs, while officers based within St Kilda Police Station have access to a live CCTV feed watching key drug dealing hotspots.
This level of strong enforcement has coincided with an emerging drug of choice on St Kilda streets, with 1,4-Butanediol the most common substance seized by local police over the past six months.
Between September 2024 and March 2025, detectives from the Prahran Divisional Response Unit seized $130,000 worth of drugs across St Kilda.
1,4-Butanediol accounted for around $100,000 of all drugs seized, with 33L taken out of the hands of alleged offenders.
This substance can be highly unpredictable as it works more slowly than GHB, with users at greater risk of overdosing because they are more likely to take a second or third dose.
Methylamphetamine and MDMA are the next most common drugs seized across St Kilda, followed by cocaine and ketamine.
Police executed a search warrant at an apartment on Barkly St, St Kilda, just before 7am last Wednesday (Apr. 23).
There, police uncovered traffickable quantities of 1,4-Butanediol, methylamphetamine and cannabis, as well as quantities of MDMA and prescription medication. The substances have a combined estimated potential street value of more than $16,000. Two men aged 26 and 29 were arrested at the scene. The younger man from St Kilda was charged with trafficking.