In excess of €1.6 million worth of drugs have been seized in the city and county since January, with Galway’s Garda Chief warning that illegal substances are moving freely between both jurisdictions.

At a meeting of the City Joint Policing Committee this week, members were told that the county was the source of the largest ‘busts’ over the past nine months, with city seizures making up just over a quarter of the overall amount nabbed by gardaí.

Chief Superintendent Gerry Roche told the meeting that the city and county were linked when it came to the sale and supply of drugs.

“There are some worrying trends in relation to drugs but the positive is that we are detecting them.

“The county and city are very connected – they are all supplying each other and drugs are moving fairly freely between both,” he said.

Chief Data Analyst for the Galway Garda Division, Olivia Maher, told the JPC that cocaine was the “drug of choice” in both the city and county, and was closely followed by cannabis.

Some €170,000 worth of cocaine had been seized in the city this year, she said, while €133,000 worth of cannabis had been lifted.

“Between the city and county, €1,614,500 is the total. Cocaine is the largest amount in both, but in the county, cannabis is very much closer. It’s in the county where the growhouses tend to be found,” said Ms Maher.

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