Hotline tackles drug dealing

A NEW anti-drug dealing hotline will help people living in communities blighted by drugs to reclaim their estates.

That was the message yesterday as the confidential Dial To Stop Drug Dealing free phone service, 1800-220220, was extended to Cork city and county.

It began in the Blanchardstown area of west Dublin and was followed with another pilot project in Dublin’s north inner city.

Callers will be able to speak to a trained operator who will ask them for their information and nothing more. The caller won’t be asked for a name, their phone number won’t be recorded and the call won’t be traced.

The service is not operated by the gardaí, but all the information gathered is passed on to them for analysis by the Garda National Drugs Unit.

Useful information can then be filtered back down to local Garda drugs units for action.

The Dial To Stop Drug Dealing initiative is a safe, confidential and completely anonymous way for people to pass on information on drug dealing, said Cllr Jim Corr, chairman of the Cork Local Drugs Task Force.

It offers safety in numbers to people who may be afraid to pass on information for fear of reprisals, he said.

Posters will be displayed in pubs and clubs advertising the number. Leaflets with the phone number will also be dropped to houses throughout the city.