Pubdate: Tue, 11 Nov 2008
Source: Belfast Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: 2008 Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/42

THE UNEQUAL BATTLE AGAINST DRUGS

Northern Ireland was late in joining in the orgy of  drug abuse which 
has blighted society in the UK and the  Irish Republic.

The reason was simple, the level of security during the  Troubles 
meant it was difficult for drug dealers to  either bring their evil 
goods into the province or to  distribute them. Not only had they to 
contend with the  RUC and Army, but also the paramilitaries who 
either wanted to muscle in on the action or to vent their  anger on 
the dealers. But as the security situation  eased, the prevalence of 
drug abuse and supply  mushroomed. Paramilitaries joined forces with 
criminals  to obtain and deal in drugs, one of the highest-earning 
criminal pursuits.

There is well-documented evidence of drug barons in the  Republic and 
in the UK extending their empires into the  province. Relatively 
speaking it is a small  marketplace, but business is business, even 
in crime.  Just as the province was late in joining the drugs  trade, 
the development of that trade has also suffered  a time lag. However, 
the signs are that

Northern Ireland is catching up, and catching up fast.

News that cocaine use has tripled in the last four  years is a 
worrying indication that abusers are turning  to stronger and 
stronger drugs in order to get their  kicks. One of the most 
distressing facts to emerge from  an all-Ireland survey of drug use 
is that five times as  many women are now using cocaine as in 2003. 
That shows  the cocaine is now becoming an acceptable drug 
in  certain circles. It is more fashionable than other,  drugs such 
as cannabis or ecstasy, but also vastly more  expensive and dangerous.

Those who treat addicts report that some of their clients are 
spending UKP 500 to UKP1,000 a week on their  cocaine habit. That 
level of abuse can only be funded  through crime. So what is one 
person's addiction  becomes the affliction of those who are robbed or 
mugged to fund it. The Garda and armed forces in the  Republic are to 
be commended for their action last week  in intercepting a UKP 400m 
shipment of cocaine bound, it  is believed, for the UK market. 
Doubtless some of that  shipment would have found its way back to 
Ireland,  north and south, leading to more crime and more misery 
throughout all levels of society.

In Northern Ireland more than half of cocaine users reported that 
they found it either fairly easy or  very easy to obtain the drug. 
That is borne out by the  number of drug seizures reported by the 
PSNI which rose  from 278 to 405. That shows that, notwithstanding 
good  intelligence work by the police, there is no shortage  of the 
drug in circulation. Experience also shows that  when the number of 
seizures increases, so also does the  amount of drug abuse which goes 
on undetected.

The police are fighting an unequal battle. There  obviously is a 
sophisticated drug dealing network in  the province supplied by 
powerful drug barons in  Britain and the Republic. At a time when the 
PSNI is  facing difficulties because of inadequate funding, it  is 
imperative that the force is given the resources  required to fight 
this new evil in our midst. We need  only look across the border to 
see the general level of  lawlessness associated with drug dealing. 
Having  recently emerged from the horrors of political  conflict, we 
do not need to be plunged back into a  society where ruthless 
criminals hold sway.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom