€24m worth of drugs seized in 2020 as 'recreational' use labelled 'a dangerous misnomer'
Cocaine worth €9.5m was seized by Gardaí in 2020. Picture: iStock
More than €24m worth of drugs was seized by gardaí in 2020 as the Garda Commissioner claimed the term ‘recreational’ drug use “is a dangerous misnomer”.
The figures come as An Garda Síochána announced Operation Tara, an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy which commenced on July 1.
Gardaí said that in 2020 Divisional Drugs Units in all garda divisions were resourced in preparation for the operation.
As of May 31, 321 members are full time assigned to Divisional Drug Units across every Garda Division.
In 2020, gardaí seized large quantities of cocaine and cannabis along with a number of other drugs.
A spokesperson said that the increase in size of the Divisional Drug Units has seen significant amounts of drugs seized and arrests made.
Last year, the force seized in excess of:
- 137.8kg cocaine worth €9.5m
- 368.6kg cannabis worth €7.3m
- 41.4kg diamorphine worth €5.8m
- 28.4kg/ 32,000 amphetamines/ tablets (MDMA/ LSD/ ecstacy) worth €1.1m
- 471,400 benzodiazepine tablets worth €750,000
Operation Tara aims “to protect communities from the scourge of illegal drugs” and it will focus on “individuals and groups involved in the drug trade will be the target of enforcement activity based on intelligence and the latest crime trends”.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris that anyone who uses illegal drugs is putting money in the pockets of drug cartels.
“The term 'recreational' drug use is a dangerous misnomer that hides the irreparable damage that illegal and dangerous drugs cause to individuals and society,” the Commissioner said, speaking at Garda Headquarters.
“A current generation is suffering from and will be lost to the menace of this illegal drug use.
"Every person who continues to buy and consume illegal drugs inflicts untold damage to individuals under coercive control from organised drug gangs in Ireland, is putting money directly in the pockets of drug cartels, and is responsible for the damage done to communities here and abroad from drugs.” Comm Harris said that under Operation Tara there will be a “ particular focus on street level dealing”.
He said that this type of dealing is “devastating for the individual buying the drugs and their loved ones, it is also corrosive for local communities to have to witness it”.
"It is no longer the case that such dealing is confined to our cities and urban areas, it is now happening in towns and villages around the country.
“Operation Tara will tackle this scourge.”
Gardaí have highlighted some of the cases were additional resources to the Divisional Drugs Units have had an impact, including one large seizure in Tallaght.
Gardaí said that a drug unit executed a search warrant and located two large plastic barrels “which contained 76.9kg of suspected ecstasy tablets packed in bags and 8.27kg of suspected MDMA in blocks.
“The total drugs seized believed to be €5m.”
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