NEW YEAR DRUGS ALERT IN REPUBLIC

Forget bubbly: the biggest shortage facing Irish party-goers for the
millennium is drugs, particularly cocaine and ecstasy, according to senior
gardai.

Traffickers concerned they will not be able to meet the expected rise in
demand are resorting to desperate measures to import drugs for new year
celebrations.

In an unprecedented move, say gardai, over the past fortnight Irish lorry
drivers in Spain and Amsterdam have been asked to ferry packages back to
Ireland.

"It seems to be a sign of desperation," said one senior source. "Usually
the courier is known to the traffickers and paid in advance. The scheme is
usually organised from Ireland."

The Garda National Drugs Unit is also looking into the possibility that
drug dealers are hiring small planes to carry drugs into the republic.
Police believe that criminals are hiring planes on the Continent and flying
to privately owned airfields in Ireland to avoid detection.

A garda source said: "You need a flight plan to fly into Dublin airport,
but with private airfields you pay a landing fee and refuelling charge.
Cargo checks are largely nonexistent. Often records are never kept, even if
the flight is legitimate."

Traffickers often try to cater for unusual peaks. Last month detectives
intercepted 5kg of cocaine at Dublin airport believed to be destined for
the MTV awards.

Ireland is often used as a gateway for drugs into Europe. In July, the
biggest ever haul of cocaine was seized off the coast of Spain. Valued at
pounds 1.2 billion it was being monitored by the Garda National Drugs Unit
and is believed to have been destined for the republic.

Police believe the cargo was destined for a remote location in Kerry where
it would have been distributed throughout Europe. A Dublin man with
connections to the Colombian cartel that owned the shipment was to collect
the consignment when it arrived.