MOBILITY MAKING LIFE EASIER FOR DEALERS

As in other parts of the State, adolescent abuse of alcohol and
illegal drugs is a problem in the mid-west, and the drug culture is
embedded in third-level student life.

Organised crime in Limerick is small-scale, but, almost inevitably, it
tends to be tied up with drugs and cigarette smuggling. So far this
year, there have been seizures of cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine.

Det Garda Oliver Stapleton, of the Limerick drugs squad, says there is
not as yet a major problem with hard drugs, but regular cocaine and
heroin seizures leave gardai in no doubt that there is a local market
for them.

"Everything from cannabis to LSD to ecstasy to speed is available in
every town and village and every country crossroads in Ireland," he
says.

Cocaine has become less expensive and is now being aimed at less
affluent drug users, he adds.

Because of increased mobility, dealers are less visible in country
areas. "Limerick is only 21/2 hours from Dublin. People are able to
get around a lot more quickly and smoothly," he points out. Although
Shannon Airport has been a focal point for smuggling, the drugs seized
are usually intended for wider distribution. In April this year, 10kg
of cannabis was found in the possession of a Spanish national. Last
November, a Jamaican woman was found to have 51 capsules of cocaine in
her possession.

Meanwhile, coastal seizures have dried up in recent years. The most
notable case was the discovery four years ago of 50kg of cocaine
aboard a Columbian ship docked at Moneypoint, Co Clare. But
recognition that the River Shannon was being used by gangs to smuggle
drugs into Northern Ireland has led to gardai utilising a new pounds
250,000 boat on the waterway.

Det Garda Stapleton says the main focus of prevention is education at
secondary schools and among third-level students. "If you get rid of
the demand, then you get rid of the supply," he says.

But alcohol is recognised as the most damaging of drugs, despite, or
maybe because of, its legality. At the University of Limerick, life
skills modules, introduced over the past two years, include alcohol
awareness as part of self development and interpersonal skills courses.