FEWER than 20 people control the illicit drug trade in the State, the Garda Commissioner has said.
Addressing a Dail drugs committee, Mr Pat Byrne said there was "one big gang" divided into four groups which ran the trade.
"I think there are fewer than 20 key people who are really pulling the strings," he said. They had "a lot of hangers on and people who do the dirty business for them".
Mr Byrne predicted that drug criminals whose activities had been disrupted by Garda operations would try to respond "in the only way they know".
The overall crime activities would "probably get a little worse before they get better" but, he added, "I think in the next five or six years we should see ourselves getting on top of the situation".
Asked about "contract killings", he expected progress, including people being brought before the courts, over the next year.
Mr Byrne also told TDs there was a need for "some type of coordinated and cohesive approach" to the legislation used by gardai. At present, separate laws allowed for detention without charge for up to 12 hours, 48 hours, or seven days. Someone suspected of murder using a knife could be held for 12 hours. But if a gun was used they could be detained for up to 48 hours. "Why isn't all this rationalised?" he asked.
Since the beginning of Operation Dochas in Dublin in October, the Garda had arrested more than 1,500 people and charged 1,300 with drug related offences, the Commissioner said. This followed more than 11,000 arrests in the first nine months of the year.
He welcomed the involvement of local communities in the fight against drugs - as long as they stayed within the law. In this context, since the beginning of the year there had been "about 40 incidents" of lawbreaking, including assaults and one murder.
Mr Byrne said he knew some paramilitaries or former paramilitaries were involved in Dublin's anti drug movement. Some were involved "perhaps for their own political reasons". But he wanted the focus to remain on tackling drug dealers.
Several TDs asked about the detail of Operation Dochas and its "gap" in anti drug patrolling between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. Mr Byrne said there was a gap but resources had to be given greater importance and 24 hour cover could be provided where needed.
Mr Tony Gregory said residents of Inchicore had been unable to get gardai to deal with daylight street drug dealing. Mr Byrne said he would be "absolutely appalled" if gardai did not respond.
The Commissioner added that Operation Dochas was aimed at lower level dealers rather than "drug barons". "You never get those top guys with the drugs, you get them with the money."
Ms Liz O'Donnell of the Progressive Democrats suggested some gardai were "aggressive" rather than co operating with communities. Mr Byrne said he wanted the co operative approach.
Mr Byrne said the force had not been helped by the division between the Garda Federation and the Garda Representative Association at garda rank. But the divide did not harm operations.