THE UNEQUAL BATTLE AGAINST DRUGS

Northern Ireland was late in joining in the orgy of drug abuse which
has blighted society in the UK and the Irish Republic.

The reason was simple, the level of security during the Troubles
meant it was difficult for drug dealers to either bring their evil
goods into the province or to distribute them. Not only had they to
contend with the RUC and Army, but also the paramilitaries who
either wanted to muscle in on the action or to vent their anger on
the dealers. But as the security situation eased, the prevalence of
drug abuse and supply mushroomed. Paramilitaries joined forces with
criminals to obtain and deal in drugs, one of the highest-earning
criminal pursuits.

There is well-documented evidence of drug barons in the Republic and
in the UK extending their empires into the province. Relatively
speaking it is a small marketplace, but business is business, even
in crime. Just as the province was late in joining the drugs trade,
the development of that trade has also suffered a time lag. However,
the signs are that

Northern Ireland is catching up, and catching up fast.

News that cocaine use has tripled in the last four years is a
worrying indication that abusers are turning to stronger and
stronger drugs in order to get their kicks. One of the most
distressing facts to emerge from an all-Ireland survey of drug use
is that five times as many women are now using cocaine as in 2003.
That shows the cocaine is now becoming an acceptable drug
in certain circles. It is more fashionable than other, drugs such
as cannabis or ecstasy, but also vastly more expensive and dangerous.

Those who treat addicts report that some of their clients are
spending UKP 500 to UKP1,000 a week on their cocaine habit. That
level of abuse can only be funded through crime. So what is one
person's addiction becomes the affliction of those who are robbed or
mugged to fund it. The Garda and armed forces in the Republic are to
be commended for their action last week in intercepting a UKP 400m
shipment of cocaine bound, it is believed, for the UK market.
Doubtless some of that shipment would have found its way back to
Ireland, north and south, leading to more crime and more misery
throughout all levels of society.

In Northern Ireland more than half of cocaine users reported that
they found it either fairly easy or very easy to obtain the drug.
That is borne out by the number of drug seizures reported by the
PSNI which rose from 278 to 405. That shows that, notwithstanding
good intelligence work by the police, there is no shortage of the
drug in circulation. Experience also shows that when the number of
seizures increases, so also does the amount of drug abuse which goes
on undetected.

The police are fighting an unequal battle. There obviously is a
sophisticated drug dealing network in the province supplied by
powerful drug barons in Britain and the Republic. At a time when the
PSNI is facing difficulties because of inadequate funding, it is
imperative that the force is given the resources required to fight
this new evil in our midst. We need only look across the border to
see the general level of lawlessness associated with drug dealing.
Having recently emerged from the horrors of political conflict, we
do not need to be plunged back into a society where ruthless
criminals hold sway.