RUTHLESS

Judged even by the cold-blooded code of the international drugs
cartels, the killings of three young Irish men in a leafy Dutch suburb
stand out for their terrible cruelty and ruthlessness.

The horror of their last moments defies description. It is enough to
know that they were brutally tortured, disfigured, shot dead and set
alight. The evil nature of the crime has shocked us all as much for
its inhumanity as its futility.

The drug barons who ordered this outrage must be pursued at all costs.
Earlier and closer to home this year, two other young men who also
sought to make ``easy money'' were found murdered on a canal bank in
Dublin. And only last weekend, a man was shot dead in the city centre
in what gardai believe was another drug-related murder. ``Easy money''
it would appear, comes at a terrible price.

It is evident that the drugs trade knows no borders, and it is obvious
that if there is to be any real progress in halting it, it must be
tackled on a global basis. This requires the fullest co-operation of
international law enforcers and a review of extradition procedures.

One of several tragic aspects to these murders is that these young men
all under 30 would still be alive today if they had not dabbled in
this diabolical trade. By getting involved in the grimy world of the
drug trade they signed their own death warrants.

Amsterdam has become a haven for the illicit industry - ironically
because of its liberal drug laws. Many Irish underworld figures fled
there to avoid the fallout from the Veronica Guerin murder. Now, they
too must wonder about the security of their sanctuary. After fleeing
the gardai, they live under the threat from their underworld rivals
who have shown all too graphically what they are capeable of.

There must be no let up in the Garda's vigorous pursuit of these
criminals.

It is not known who these young men crossed to meet such hideous
punishment, but we know enough to realise that there was a lot at
stake as the drug lords sought to protect their blood money.

But society has even more to lose unless it wages its own war on this
evil and lethal trade.