GARDA ARRESTED ON DRUG DEALING SUSPICION

A Dublin garda aged 26 has been arrested on suspicion of selling the drug
ecstasy in a Limerick night-club. The officer, attached to Sundrive Garda
station in Crumlin, Dublin, was taken to Henry Street Garda station in
Limerick late on Thursday night.

He had earlier been arrested by two gardai investigating claims of
drug-dealing in a city-centre disco. He was questioned and released later
on Friday, and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public
Prosecutions.

It is understood the officer has been off work for almost six months,
saying he is receiving treatment for alcohol addiction. He is originally
from Tipperary but had served in Dublin since leaving the Garda College.
Other officers who know him say they are shocked, but said he did appear to
have personal problems.

The arrest occurs just as another garda, John O'Neill, received 41/2 years
for taking bribes from Dublin drug-dealers including members of the Dublin
criminal gang which is suspected of having murdered the journalist Veronica
Guerin.

Officers in the city said O'Neill, too, had personal problems and was
addicted to gambling which led him into debt and, finally, to taking
bribes. He was given the money by criminals in return for information about
investigations into their activities. O'Neill attempted to compromise
investigations and drugs searches by alerting the gang members.

He had attempted to undermine the Veronica Guerin investigation but was
unable to intercept radio messages as the investigating officers used their
own mobile telephones for communicating with each other and O'Neill was
unable to alert the criminals when they were about to be raided.

The investigating officers succeeded in making major drugs and arms
seizures by the accidental expedient of using their own telephones.

There are concerns that other officers, particularly in Dublin where living
costs are significantly higher than in the rest of the country, might
resort to crime to clear debt.

Dublin gardai say young officers beginning a career in the city have major
financial difficulties in trying to establish a home and family in the face
of rising property costs.

One said that the relative decline in wages for gardai, who had missed out
on pay rises given to other public-sector groups such as nurses and
teachers, had most seriously affected gardai in Dublin.

In the past week when it emerged that the Government had offered gardai
significantly less than the other public sectors, one officer with many
years of service in the city predicted that more young gardai would resort
to part-time work or crime to supplement their incomes.