Illegal drugs trade worth €650m annually

The illegal drugs industry in Ireland is worth close to €650 million, with the cannabis market alone valued at €374 million annually, according to a new report from the Government's Health Research Board.

The report, which details drugs sales and seizures up to 2003, found that while cannabis is still the most popular drug in the State, the cocaine market has increased dramatically - up 500 per cent between 2000 and 2003.

The estimated street value of cannabis resin seized in 2003 was more than €374 million, followed by ecstasy at €129 million, cocaine at €75 million, heroin at €54 million, amphetamines at €10 million, cannabis herb at €4 million and LSD at €3,300.

The market value is calculated by the board using the number of Garda seizures, which represent around 10 per cent of imports plus the retail price gauged by the Garda National Drugs Unit.

The estimate is conservative and the amount of money spent on drugs is likely to be even higher, said Johnny Connolly, criminologist with the board.

Some 18kg of cocaine were seized by gardaí in 2000, seizures fell in 2001 to 5.3kg, but rose considerably in 2002 to 32kg. However 2003 saw a dramatic increase with 107.5kg seized, indicating that more than €75 million worth of cocaine was sold on the streets.

The increase in sales is probably due to a more mainstream use of the drug, the report said.

The cost of cocaine has decreased from €100 per gram to €70 per gram, however purity levels have also dropped significantly in a 10-year-period, from 61 per cent pure in 1993 to just 36 per cent pure in 2003.

While more analysis of cocaine purity is required, according to the report, "cocaine purity levels are reported as being lower in Ireland than elsewhere in the EU".

The number of heroin seizures has decreased by just under 18 per cent since 2001, from 802 seizures in 2001 to 660 in 2003.

The report found that heroin sale and usage has expanded in recent years from being a predominantly Dublin problem to one affecting the whole country.

While heroin related prosecutions are down in Dublin city, they have increased in the surrounding counties. There has been a steady increase in heroin-related prosecutions in the eastern region, from zero prosecutions in 1995 to 75 in 2003.

While cannabis is still the most widely-used drug, accounting for 58 per cent of all seizures, there was a 20 cent decrease in seizures between 2000 and 2003 with a corresponding decrease in the number of cannabis-related prosecutions, which the report said was more likely due to a change in "Garda enforcement strategy" than a decrease in availability.

Ecstasy seizures are also on the decline - from 1,864 in 2000 to 1,083 in 2003.