#120M DRUGS HAUL SEIZED OFF COAST IN LAST FIVE YEARS

ALMOST #120m worth of cannabis and cocaine has been seized off the coast in
the past five years by the Customs National Drugs Team, but more than half
of the drugs passing through our waters to Europe still go undetected.

Members of the Customs National Drugs Team have warned that the level of
trafficking through Irish waters is set to double over the next 20 years,
as international dealers in cocaine and ecstasy continue to exploit our
coastal waters as a gateway to Europe.

Since 1993, customs officers have seized over 6,900 kilos of cannabis off
the coast, and 630 kilos of cocaine. In today's street prices, the cannabis
seizures would be worth over #69m, with the cocaine hauls valued at over
#50m. But the #120m worth of drugs seized in Irish waters since 1993 still
only represents an estimated 35% of all the drugs passing through to Europe
from North Africa and South America.

"We have become much more sophisticated over the last ten years. It is fair
to say that ten years ago there was a certain amount of naiveti, but even
now with all the international co-operation that's in place, we are not
getting anything near all the drugs coming through. The United Nations
estimates that 35% of all drugs produced are seized, and it's fair to say
that that applies to Ireland, as well," a customs officer said. The
officer, who cannot be named for security reasons, estimates that the
problem will increase: "The trend in terms of seizures is increasing, but
that doesn't mean we are getting any more of the drugs because the
production is also increasing, as is consumption."

The international drugs trade is estimated to have an annual worth of #175
billion in sterling, second only to the arms industry as the biggest global
business in the world. Customs surveyor Brendan Mulcahy told delegates at
an international conference of shipmasters in Cork, yesterday, that drug
trafficking was on the increase. "It is now a worldwide problem, and the
rate of production of cocaine is on the increase. There are now 170
different recipes for ecstasy on the Internet, if you are interested. In my
view, the situation is worsening. If you look at the progress drug dealers
have made in the past 20 years, I think the problem in the next 20 years is
going to at least double," Mr Mulcahy said. Ireland is particularly
susceptible to drug trafficking because of its key position along the
cocaine route from South America to Europe, and on the cannabis route from
North Africa and the Caribbean to Europe.

The conference also heard there was a growing trade in illegal consignments
of tobacco and alcohol into Ireland, with stolen computer components moving
out of Ireland to other markets.

Checked-by: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)