Hauls of heroin and powerful guns surged significantly last year

Seizures of heroin, ecstasy, and tranquillisers increased significantly last year, according to the Garda Annual Report 2015.

Greater quantities of high-powered weapons were also confiscated, including assault rifles and sub-machine guns.

A total of 638 illegal firearms were seized, including 61 pistols and revolvers (compared to 54 in 2014), 10 assault rifles (two in 2014) and seven sub-machine guns (three in 2014).

The report says that 114 mid-and-low-ranking drug dealers were arrested in undercover street-purchase operations in 2015 and that 204 people were arrested for serious trafficking.

In counter-terrorism, 30 people were arrested and 20 people charged — 16 for membership of the IRA, four for firearms offences and three in relation to explosives. There were a further 29 seizures of improvised explosive devices.

While the total value of drugs seized fell from €57 million in 2014 to €47m in 2015, there were noticeable increases in certain drugs, including heroin.

The report says there was a massive drop in the amount of herbal cannabis seized, which it says was the result of operations dismantling organised crime gangs dominating the lucrative trade.

A breakdown of the figures shows:

• 62kg of heroin were seized (street value of €9.3m) — compared with 39kg in 2014.
• 27kg of ecstasy and related chemicals were seized (street value of €3.5m) — compared with 13kg in 2014.
• €1.6m worth of hallucinogenic drugs were seized — compared to €139,000 worth in 2014.

It also found that €990,000 worth of benzodiazepines (tranquillisers) were seized, compared to €280,000 worth in 2014. Some €664,000 worth of sleeping tablets were confiscated, compared to just €44,000 worth in 2014.

Cocaine hauls increased slightly, from 105kg to 109kg in 2015, worth €7.7m.

The amount of cannabis herb seized fell dramatically, from 1.2 tonnes in 2014 to 559,000kg in 2015, while seizures of cannabis plants fell from 15,500 to 12,500.

This accounted for more than €15m in the fall in the total valuation of drugs seized last year.

The report says this was “reflective” of how the industrial cultivation of cannabis in Ireland had been tackled under a specific operation, codenamed Nitrogen.

It says many organised crime groups (OCGs), including ones operating in the area for years, had been dismantled. It says a number of these production sites were interconnected.

The report notes the “significant increase” in the seizure of heroin last year, but notes it was similar to levels in 2013 (61kg).

It says 689 individual children were removed from their parents/guardians in 2015 in cases where gardaí believed there was an immediate danger to them, as legislated for under section 12 of the Child Care Act 2015.

This compares to 549 children in 2014 and 728 children in 2013.

Almost 10,000 people were reported missing in 2015, with 48 missing at year’s end — 30 considered “high risk”.