Senior Cork garda urges families intimidated over drugs debts to come forward

Chief Superintendent Tom Myers told the Irish Examiner that he is hearing more and more reports of drug-related intimidation in recent months

Chief Supt Tom Myers: 'I am aware from my former life in the drug unit that it is very intimidating for families of people who owe drug money to drug dealers and the intimidation can be a very, very serious matter.' Picture: Denis Minihane

Cork City’s most senior garda has appealed to families who have been subjected to intimidation because of drugs debts to report the incidents to gardaí.

Chief Superintendent Tom Myers made the appeal after the issue was raised at the Cork City Joint Policing Committee (JPC) by Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould.

While Chief Supt Myers said gardaí do not have increased reports of drug-related intimidation, he added: “I am not saying it is not happening out there. It is just that we are not getting too many complaints. 

"I am aware from my former life in the drug unit that it is very intimidating for families of people who owe drug money to drug dealers and the intimidation can be a very, very serious matter.” 

He urged people to come forward if they have been subjected to such threats.

“Those measures will be thoroughly investigated, I can assure you.” 

Mr Gould said he is concerned that the national Drive (Drug-related Intimidation and Violence Engagement) Project is not rolled out in Cork.

“As an evidence-based programme aimed at protecting those at risk of, and currently experiencing, drug-related intimidation it is vital this is rolled out soon,” he said. 

'Gangs terrorising people'

Mr Gould told the  Irish Examiner that he is hearing more and more reports of drug-related intimidation in recent months “with gangs from Cork and Dublin terrorising people in their homes because of drug debts".

An Garda Siochána says the organisation currently has a drug-related intimidation reporting mechanism in place, with contact details available for each division on the Garda website.

David Lane, the HSE's head of addiction services in Cork and Kerry, said at present there is no project worker in the region dealing specifically with drug-related intimidation but he is hopeful that such a post will be funded in the future.

However, he said there are no concrete plans for such a worker at present.

The JPC meeting heard that two drug seizures made in Ballincollig and in Gurranabraher in recent months were very significant.

Chief Supt Myers said: “There has been a significant focus on two particular gangs and we got two good results in the last two months. There was a €60,000 heroin capture in Gurranabraher in St Mary’s Avenue and a €260,000 cannabis seizure in Ballincollig. There was a significant amount of work went into that.” 

Offensive weapons

The meeting heard that while there were no firearms seized in the city in January and February, there were 32 detections of possession of offensive weapons.

Chief Supt Myers described the detections as significant, adding: “These are people who are going around the streets carrying knives or screwdrivers in the early hours of the morning, one for their own protection, or some found with offensive weapons with intent to commit crime like breaking into cars or breaking into shops or whatever.” 

He raised concerns about the number of people leaving their homes unlocked at night, saying that in the past week, half of the break-ins reported to gardaí in Cork City involved properties where doors were left unlocked. He said this enabled people to access keys to vehicles which were stolen.

“Lock up your property, whether it is the back door or the front door of the house,” he said.