A ‘ramping up’ of Galway Garda efforts to tackle drug lords is reaping rewards but they are only reaching the “tip of the iceberg”, a Joint Policing Committee (JPC) meeting was told this week.

City Gardaí have apprehended double the number of criminals dealing illegal drugs in the first six months of 2023 than they did in the same period last year – detecting 56 individuals with drugs for sale or supply this year compared to 28 in the first half of 2022.

The meeting heard that this followed a commitment by Galway’s Chief Superintendent Gerry Roche to ‘bulk up’ the Divisional Drugs Unit, with garda data analyst Olivia Maher attributing rising detection levels to increased garda resources.

“This is very much driven by garda activity. If more enforcement and attention is given, there will be an increase in detection,” she said.

The city’s drug of choice since January had been cocaine, with €84,000 worth seized since then; this was closely followed by cannabis of which amounts valued at €82,000 had been captured.

Some €8,600 worth of heroin had been taken off the streets, while ecstasy valued at €1,600 was also seized.

Other drugs found which were not identified in

the garda report were valued at €50,000, said Ms Maher, adding that “ketamine continues to be a feature of the drugs seized in the city”.

The Mayor, Cllr Eddie Hoare (FG), welcomed the increased numbers of gardaí in the city being allocated to the drugs unit, but said “we are always told that detection is only about 10%” of the total amount of illegal drugs in circulation.

Mayor Hoare sought an update on the long-promised dog unit to assist with drug detection and was informed by Superintendent Damien Flanagan that it would be up and running “hopefully, by the end of the month”.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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