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THE VAST MAJORITY of drugs seized by law enforcement agencies in Ireland in the last five years are still awaiting destruction, it has emerged.
New figures provided by the Departments of Justice and Finance shows that drugs with a value of €495 million were not disposed of by Gardaí and Revenue since 2010 – some 93.4% of those seized.
By contrast, €35 million worth were destroyed – just 6.6% of all seizures.
Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty, whose parliamentary questions yielded the information, this week labelled the situation “bizarre” and called on Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to give a “more detailed and credible” explanation.
As shown in the chart below, the proportion of drugs destroyed has declined sharply, from 27.6% in 2010, to just 0.3% last year.
The value of drugs destroyed has also shrunk, from €14,930,279.80 in 2010, to just €404,153 last year – 36 times less.
And this is despite the fact the almost three times more drugs were actually seized in 2014, than in 2010 – as shown in the chart below.
Overall, Gardaí and Revenue have seized €529,952,229 worth of controlled substances in the last five years.
As shown in the chart below, 65% of those seizures were conducted by Gardaí, while Customs agents picked up the remainder.
In a statement this week, the Donegal South West TD and Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson called the current situation “bizarre.”
I was amazed to find that over the last five years almost half a billion euro of drugs seized by An Garda Síochana and Revenue appear to have not been destroyed.
For each of the past five years the value of drugs destroyed has diminished rapidly from a high of almost €15m in 2010 to less than half a million euro last year.
This is bizarre given that the total value of seizures has generally increased year on year.
I am calling on the Minister to ask a few more questions and to give a more detailed and credible response…
In response to a PQ from Doherty in March, the Minister said drugs used as evidence can only be destroyed on a court order, and that the destruction of some quantities of drugs has been delayed “while new systems are put in place” following a review by Gardaí.
In circumstances where criminal proceedings have been initiated the legal destruction of controlled drugs can only take place when such proceedings have reached finality and an appropriate order has been made by the courts.
I am further informed by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána has also carried out a review in relation to the handling, storage and destruction of controlled drugs.
This has meant that quantities of drugs authorised for destruction have been held back while new systems are put in place.
Any noted decline in the quantity of drugs destroyed in recent years should therefore be redressed in the future.
TheJournal.ie asked An Garda Síochána a number of questions, including when the system review began and concluded, but did not receive any response.
Similarly, the Department of Justice did not respond to requests for an explanation of the low and decreasing proportion of drugs destroyed, in light of the newly-revealed figures.
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Thats some stash, wonder where they’re hiding it all? They’re obviously waiting for it to be decriminalised before they sell it all on, to maximise the profits, so to speak.
I was just thinking that, stockpiling the goods.
Enda & Joan need it to finance the reelection campaign!
skin up boys
Make them an offer they won’t refuse??????????????
FOR SALE
I volunteer to destroy them…
They’re up for sale on done deal
I`ll take a chance, Either me or them , But one of us is getting destroyed
A Garda spokesman reassured the reporters that “yeahhhhhh, – everything is cool man…dig…??”
Any yokes?
They’re probably working on a sweet, lucrative contract for someone they know to handle the destruction of them.
Joan and labour need it to keep them in labour la la land
They’re saving them for a big Christmas party?
Where does one store half a billion Euro worth of drugs.
Up the keester
in their nostrils
We’ll probably see it up for auction with the unclaimed bicycles and other miscellaneous items shortly!
“TheJournal.ie asked An Garda Síochána a number of questions, including when the system review began and concluded, but did not receive any response.
Similarly, the Department of Justice did not respond to requests for an explanation of the low and decreasing proportion of drugs destroyed, in light of the newly-revealed figures.”
Well I’m glad to see the Journal asking questions. That’s good. Follow the white line if you want to get to the bottom of it.
their just waiting for the market to pick up
Legalise it, Apply licensing and quality standards to it, sell it and tax it. Remove the income stream going to organised crime.
Legalise cocaine and heroin. Sure what could go wrong…
Lots of solicitors /Barristers /Judges out of work. No more revolving door. People are either going to take drugs or not. Just like people choose to or not to smoke tobacco
Exactly.
At the very least decriminalize. Portugal has shown great results from their policies.
You’re not seriously comparing the choice to smoke tobacco to heroin and cocaine?
We should sell it to Portugal then Charlie….hang on…they’re even more skint than we are !!
tobacco has killed more people.
tobacco is also more addictive so you are right. Tobacco is worse. There is no comparison. Tobacco has killed millions of people slowly and painfully.
Tobacco is not worse. My god. Heroin is absolutely more addictive than Nicotine. Also, the reason more people have died from smoking is that move people smoke obviously. If everybody who smoked was a junkie then I absolutely guarantee you the death rates would be higher.
@ Marty Borgnine Please explain what aspects of these drugs makes them incomparable with using familiar yet deadly tobacco?
somebody addicted to tobacco is a junkie and the hospitals are full of addicts dying slowly gasping for air.
6 million+ deaths every year from tobacco, 250,000 globally from all illegal drugs.
because FG are still smoking them
The drugs were checked into secure rooms….for some reason they can’t seem to find them in those rooms and therefore can’t destroy them.
Probably in bin bags somewhere..
I had a house rented ,it turned out to be a grow hse,i suspected it early on ,warned The Garda,they did NOTHING,until i said to renters i wish to inspect the house.OF course they then vanished.Gurda then appeared.
una ya snitch!!
una ya snitch!
It’s called a back up …..in case the country gets stuffed again :-)
jesus. Can the justice department get any thing right!!
Would not be supprised one bit when a guard is caught flogging some gear on the side
Their Christmas party is coming up
It would be nice to know how much has been recirculating back onto the streets. If it hasn’t been destroyed.
They should give small free regular handouts of these drugs to drug users in rehab centers, to try and hit the dealers. Drug users getting them from a safe source could help clean up the junkie problem we have in the long run, and help people with drug problems.
I wouldn’t say it would go down too well if the gardai were giving out free drugs .
Dead right Suzie. We would then have an influx of foreign junkies as well as Syrian refugees. Of course we could accommodate some of them in Una’s grow house.
In America they use confiscated drugs in sting operations so this is one reason to keep hold of them. Some TDs need to keep their noses out of other people’s business.
The government under the orders of the troika prefere the options of sale and lease back.
€495m worth of stings…ha ha ha.
Who are they going to try sting with half a billion euros worth of drugs? I know El Chapo is still on the run but I don’t think Irish authorities are gonna be nabbing him.
Lads…where do you think the TD’s get the gear for snorting in the Dáil jacks?
TD’s wouldn’t use drugs would they. Only if Gerry Ryan was here we could ask him.
Are you for real John? Do you really think the need nearly €1 billion of confiscated drugs to run a few sting operations. You’ve been watching too many American cop shows. I just hope that they haven’t the drugs stashed in the one place cos if the word gets out where it is it could be targeted by a heavily armed and well organised terrorist gang.
…or maybe it’s just me that’s been watching too many American cop shows !!!
mayb their going to put them on th balance sheet as a national asset now that irish water is decked????
Because they are still horsing into them
It would be heist of the Century if a criminal gang stole it all- I would laugh my socks off!
Wouldn’t it be funny if they weren’t actually seizing all those drugs, but just taking photos of the same drugs over and over, so that they could pretend they were winning?
They can sell it to the Dutch
Very bazaar indeed.
*Bizarre even!
Jesus,, can the justice department get anything right!!!
you already said that?
They got 500 new recruits to feed…….
Can see now why Aodhan O’Riordain wants to legalise weed. This stash would pay off a bailout instalment or two.
Oh my god..I don’t f*ucking care!!
It’s alright man. I’m sure there is stuff you care about. Just care about that, ye know. Point is…. Just keeping caring. Yeah?
that’s very sound advice you just given there Charlie , fair play .
That’s because you have your legal piss.
You gotta wonder ?
Pass it on to addicts and let natural selection take its course.
Harsh? Maybe.
Well if you were to do that then why bother confiscating it in the first place if it’s already going to the addicts? OMG like d’uh even a 5 year old knows that
My point exactly Mark…..
“OMG like d’uh” Mark? Are you, like, an American? Next thing you’ll start using the word “awesome” a lot :-)
Says the man punning on the Beachboys…
I think I can guess what point you’re trying to make there Watcher but I’d like to hear it from you anyway.
“I wanna go home”
Sloop it was actually slightly exaggerated for dramatic effect but an untrained eye like yours wouldn’t be able to notice that.
Not harsh, just foolish.
Don’t destroy them. Such a waste! Sell them on to places where they’re legal. If they’re prescription drugs, sell them to pharmacies.
only that they’re probably laced…washing powder,flour, cement..even rat poison. Its abysmal but its true.
You started off with probably and ended with true?
No wonder the Gardai are out of the heads these days on a few blues and sleepers.
sell it back to them and get something for it (400mill). Dosen’t make a difference to them…….They (drug dealers) will always have more to bring in, so why not make money out of it, more of a encouragement for the Garda to round up revenue like speeding tickets.
Christmas party in a couple of months!
Because we live in a corrupt society
There just keeping it till the have 1 billion worth & then they’ll do there big photo shoot & press conference & clap each other on the back for great work done . Then they’ll get high!!!
Annie Oakes?
Going back a while I knew someone who’s Dad passed along the seized goods to his son who passed it along to his friends….all legit apparently…..it had to be burned one way or another :-)
must be going to sell it back make a few bob for the country!!
Gardaí Christmas party will be rocking this year
NAMA will auction it back to the dealers. It’s an Irish thing.
I don’t know what streets your buying your drugs from, but my streets definitely do not have that volume available for sale. Maybe if they released their stash, the price would come down a little.
That haul will disappear like Callinans sim card.
Just enough drugs there to frame those opposing FG/Labour.
Noreen o’sullivans private stash. Everytime i see her on tv, she’s got that constant smile and walks around like she don’t have a care in the world.
hmmm?
I read once that the people of Malaga are very happy people, as the drugs are destroyed in a secret place there. It would have to be a secret secure place here too! Tell tale sign: A Very Big Chimney!
yeah that’s how they’re bringing back the IRA
Noirin O’Sullivan is shoving it up her gutter
the perfect hiding spot MGS style bitches
Illegal drug deals are now included in economic figures
Prostitution and profits from the drugs trade have given an added boost to Ireland’s improving economy. Hence the assets must remain intact to remain on the national balance sheet. See http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/illegal-trade-gives-economy-a-lift-30404291.html
Absolute disgrace.. Who said Escobar was dead..?
It’s the same 100 quids worth of drugs they are “finding” in different operations.
It’s certainly a mystery…
Large as these seizures appear-they’re nothing compared to what they did not seize…
have your say