Pubdate: Wed, 03 Jul 2013
Source: Belfast Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: 2013 Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/42

TIME TO GET TOUGH ON DEATH DEALERS

It is possible to buy nearly anything online, so it should not be a 
shock that drug dealers ply their evil trade over the internet. Yet 
there is something chilling about our report today which reveals that 
potentially lethal narcotics, including the ecstasy-type drug linked 
to the deaths of eight young people in the province, are readily 
available at the click of a mouse. In most people's imagination drug 
deals are done in back alleys or in crowded nightclubs, but obviously 
new technology has been harnessed to streamline the operation.

Our report is an indication of how pervasive drugs have become in 
modern society. There is a demand and plenty of people willing to 
meet that need. And those involved in dealing seem to have little 
fear of the consequences, either for themselves in being apprehended 
or for the misery they cause to others. With e-mail addresses and 
even mobile telephone numbers being supplied online, the brazen 
attitude of the dealers is staggering, even frightening.

The recent deaths have thrown a spotlight on the PSNI's record of 
catching those who peddle drugs.

With 2,800 people arrested for drugs offences and 4,400 seizures made 
in the last year, police can point to major successes but that has 
not been enough to deflect criticism. Health Minister Edwin Poots was 
the latest to weigh in saying police turn a blind eye to small-time 
dealers who supply them with information on more serious crimes, a 
claim hotly denied by the police.

The problem for the police is that there is common street-level 
knowledge of suspected dealers who seem to operate with impunity. Yet 
police are powerless to act unless they have hard evidence and good 
information from the public.

There are many demands on the PSNI's time, not least during the 
upcoming marching season and in combating dissident republicans, yet 
the suspicion remains that drugs could be given a higher priority.

If this spate of deaths had occurred in other UK cities the common 
feeling is that the response from police - and politicians - would 
have been sterner and more dealers would have been answering hard 
questions in police stations.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom