CLEAR MESSAGE TO DRUG BARONS AND FRAUDSTERS

DESPITE claims that serious crime is on the wane, the announcement of an
aggressive recruitment drive for the gardai will be warmly welcomed by
ordinary citizens, many of whom live in fear in the shadow of criminal
activities.

Increasing the strength of the Force, towards the manpower target of 12,000
set by Justice Minister O'Donoghue, is the best way of combating crime.

There should be no question of putting the bulk of the extra gardai on the
beat in Dublin, in spite of crime levels in the capital. It is equally
important for the Government to devote additional resources to tackling
crime in Limerick, Waterford, Carlow, Cork and other cities and towns where
the force is severely under-manned.

Particularly welcome is the news that gardai are having unprecedented
success in the battle against drugs. Remarkably, the street value of drugs
hauls in the first nine months this year amounted to over IEP70m, including
IEP2m worth of heroin seized in a holdall on Dublin's O'Connell Bridge in
broad daylight yesterday. By taking such deadly concoctions out of
circulation, the gardai have undoubtedly saved lives in this country and
other states which receive drugs smuggled through Irish ports.

Hopefully, tougher sentences for drug traders will soon begin to bite,
making their evil trade less attractive and less profitable. Interestingly,
gardai are already reporting a subtle shift in the activities of criminals
from drugs to highly organised robberies of computer parts, which are small,
easy to transport and virtually untraceable.

Ireland's high concentration of computer firms has made this country a
target of international crime, an activity every bit as lucrative as the
drugs trade. Criminals are stealing locally and collaborating with gangs in
Europe and elsewhere, selling their ill-gotten gains in the international
underworld.

By mounting a relentless crackdown on drug smuggling, the most serious
malaise to affect Ireland this century, and by hounding people involved in
other criminal activities, including fraud and tax evasion in big business
and the alarming incidence of sex crimes against women, the Garda will send
out a clear message that crime does not pay.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst