MIDLANDS DRUGS CRACKDOWN HAS AN IMPACT

A major crackdown by gardai on drug-dealing in the midlands has led
to the arrest and conviction of members of one of the main gangs in
the Athlone area.

Last week a 16-year-old Athlone schoolgirl was put on probation for
two years for possession of 139 bags of heroin for sale or supply.

Another member of the gang, her former boyfriend, was jailed for 18
months in March. Their apprehension was the work of the Garda drugs
squad set up in the Westmeath-Longford Garda division a year ago.

Insp Martin Maguire of Athlone station said that while he was very
happy with the success of the divisional drugs unit's work, there was
no room for complacency. "The problem with drugs is that when you
take out somebody there always seems to be somebody else to fill
their shoes. We have to always be vigilant," he said.

There was a heroin problem in Athlone, "albeit small in comparison to
Dublin". There were a number of locals who were addicts, which was
worrying, he said. However, heroin was not a problem in Longford or
Mullingar.

He confirmed that the local drugs squad had had some major successes.
They had been responsible for seizures of thousands of pounds worth
of cannabis and ecstasy throughout the region over the past year. A
number of arrests were made and prosecutions are pending.

"Their work has led to a decrease in the level of drugs available,
and some of the big players have been taken out," Insp Maguire said.

Mr John Madden, an outreach worker and counsellor attached to the
Connect 2000 drugs project in Athlone, said heroin was an issue in
the town but it was difficult to pinpoint the exact extent of the
problem. He said that despite the crackdown by gardai, heroin was
still available in Athlone.

A member of the Athlone Drugs Awareness Group, Ms Liz Fletcher, said
gardai were doing a very good job, and it was getting harder for
people to access drugs in the area. Her group works to create
awareness of the hazards of drug-taking and thereby reduce demand for
drugs.

The 16-year-old Athlone schoolgirl who was put on probation last week
had been arrested in Longford, on her way from Sligo to Athlone. She
had 139 bags of heroin and was part of a gang forced to leave Athlone
because of the crackdown there by Garda drugs officers, it was stated
at her trial at Sligo Circuit Court. The gang had relocated to Sligo,
from where they continued their operation.

Sgt James Delaney, who is in charge of the Longford-Westmeath
Divisional Drugs Unit, told the court that since the break-up of the
gang's operation, the level of heroin-dealing in Athlone had dropped
significantly.

The schoolgirl, who wasn't a drug-user herself, had got into
heroin-dealing purely for profit and was making UKP 20 on every deal
she sold in Athlone. She would pick up the drugs in Sligo and take
them to Athlone.

In her statement she said she would hide the heroin in lots of 10
deals around Athlone in various places including walls. Judge Anthony
Kennedy said that, but for her age, she would have been locked up.