Drug-debt enforcers 'terrorising families in every county'

Detective Superintendent Sé McCormack told the 'Irish Examiner' no part of society and no part of the country is immune to drug-related intimidation. Picture: Moya Nolan

Drug-related intimidation is now “a challenge to the very authority of the State” with enforcers terrorising communities across Ireland and no social class exempt, a senior garda has warned.

Piles of unused cash — still bank-wrapped — are turning up in garda raids, as frightened families withdraw their savings to hand over to drug debt enforcers, Detective Superintendent Sé McCormack of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau said.

Victims range from IT executives and successful building contractors liquidating hundreds of thousands of euro in assets to pay enforcers, to families in which brothers are both the victims and perpetrators of drug-related intimidation.

“It is prevalent across the country,” Det Supt McCormack said. 

It is a challenge to the very authority and legitimacy of the State which can be and must be confronted.

“We don’t release figures on it because of the confidential nature of drug related intimidation. But there are terrible stories that we’re made aware of across the country.”

Det Supt McCormack offered examples of how drug-related intimidation touches all parts of society:

• A building contractor in the South West who had nothing to do with criminality paid hundreds of thousands of euro to enforcers; 
• The father sold the family business and family land and took out huge loans to try to pay off the alleged debt; 
• An IT executive in Dublin paid off hundreds of thousands of euro and was about to re-mortgage their house before approaching gardaí; 
• A family with a history of criminal activity also approached gardaí, with one son a victim of drug-related intimidation while another son was perpetrating it.

“The intimidation, a bit like the drugs market itself, knows no bounds in terms of wealth, status, community, county. If you look at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction annual report from last year, they categorised drugs and drug use as ‘everything, everywhere, everyone’.”

The increasing use and normalisation of drug use makes tackling the problem a challenge, he said.

“It’s a pernicious problem. It’s everywhere. It’s high on the garda priorities. There’s at least one inspector nominated in every division in the country to be available to support and assist in engaging with people who are victims of drug related intimidation through the drug related intimidation reporting programme. We treat it with extreme confidence.

“We want people to come to us in the knowledge that anything they say to us is in full confidentiality.”

Intimidation can take many forms, including verbal threats, physical violence, criminal damage, silent intimidatory tactics, sexual violence, harassment, and hostile takeovers, he said. Victims can be forced into sex work or into carrying or selling drugs to pay off alleged debts.

And debts can be prone to multiplying, survivors of drug related intimidation said. 

'John' tells his story

One victim told the Irish Examiner his €30,000 drug debt was doubled by drug debt enforcers.

He was kidnapped by enforcers one day as he walked down the road in Limerick, where three men with hammers and crowbars warned him he “would get it”.

A chance red light gave 'John', whose anonymity has been protected, the split-second chance to jump out of the car and run for his life. Four days later, John agreed to sell drugs for his dealer to clear his debts.

Addiction councillor Michael Guerin, who John credits with saving his life, said drug debt intimidation has proliferated since cocaine use exploded in Ireland. 

Ireland uses the most cocaine in the EU according to the European Drug Report 2023.

The latest Health Research Board report says cocaine has overtaken heroin and other opioids to be the most common problem drug.