Value of drugs seized tops €200m
A further analysis suggests the full figure for the year will be in the region of e212m.
This would mark a rise of 26% on 2007, when drugs worth around e168m were seized.
The figures for the last two years are skewed by the massive hauls of cocaine made off the coast of Cork.
Last November, an estimated 1.7 tonnes of cocaine, worth around e119m, was seized. The previous year, 1.5 tonnes of cocaine, worth around e105m, was captured.
In both cases, the shipments were bound for Britain.
While these are the official values, the actual value of the drugs seized is significantly higher.
The cocaine haul in 2007 was valued in a subsequent court case as e440 million, such was the high purity of the drug. Sources suspect last year’s haul may also be of a similar high purity.
Releasing the first official figures for last year (up to 25 November), Mr Ahern said e203m worth of drugs were seized.
This included almost 1.8 tonnes of cocaine, worth around e131m and 162kgs of heroin, worth e32m on the street.
In addition, five tonnes of cannabis resin, worth almost e36m, was confiscated.
An analysis by the Irish Examiner of drug seizures since 25 November indicates that the final value of drugs seized will be almost e212m.
The biggest addition in the final weeks of the year was the seizure of an extra 37kg of heroin, bringing the final heroin haul to around 200kgs (e40m).
The heroin tally compares to 148kg in 2007 and 126kg in 2006, which marked a massive jump on previous years; 33kg in 2005, 26kg in 2004 and 27kg in 2003.
Gardaí are concerned at the rise, but put it down, in part, to an improved seizure rate due to better intelligence, both domestically and within Europe.
But gardaí accept there is a growing demand for heroin outside Dublin.
Regional cities, particularly Limerick and Cork, have experienced a sharp growth in heroin use in recent years as have towns such as Wexford, Edenderry, Clonmel and Tralee.
That’s in addition to ongoing demand in towns with a long-established problem, such as Athlone, Carlow and Portlaoise.
If the freak British-bound cocaine hauls in the last two years are removed from the cocaine figures it would leave a tally of around 180kg of cocaine in 2008 and around 260kg of cocaine in 2007.
This compares to 190kg in 2006 and 229kg in 2005, 167kg in 2004 and 107kg in 2003. This marked a significant rise on previous years: 32kg in 2002 and 5kg in 2001.
Mr Ahern said the sharp rise in drug hauls in recent years was largely due to increased enforcement activity and was not an accurate reflection on the amount of drugs getting into the country.
Fine Gael’s Charlie Flanagan was the south-west coast was a “renowned drugs gateway” and said not enough was being done to secure the 4,300km coastline.
Mr Ahern said extra dog units were being made available to Customs, an extra X-ray scanner was being purchased and that a second cutter would be in place this year to monitor the waters.
He also stressed the benefit of Ireland’s participation in the EU Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre — Narcotics (MAOC-N) in Lisbon, which is a coordination centre for intercepting cocaine shipments coming across the Atlantic.
