Drug seizures drop

the sentinel can reveal.

A total of £67,888 was confiscated by the PSNI from 1 April to 31 October 2011. The PSNI have captured drugs with a street value of over £7.5 million in that six month period across all policing districts in Northern Ireland.

Out of that total value only £105,185 has been captured in G District which includes Londonderry, Limavady, Strabane and Magherafelt.

Police have blamed this on a lack of good information coming from the public.

The revelations come amid a stark warning from the coordinator of HURT, one of the city’s leading drug addiction advice services, who said the use of the drug was on the rise, despite the low level of seizures.

Chairman of the DPP Thomas Conway accepted the figures were low but said he has been assured that a major anti-drugs offensive will take place in the New Year.

Ms Sadie O’Reilly, of HURT, told the Sentinel; “People are still using all kinds of drugs. We have had an increase

in the number of people coming to us for help.

“People of all ages still seek our help. The drug of choice is Cannabis. Prescription drugs are a big problem but Cannabis is the most used of all the drugs out there especially amongst the young.”

Ms O’Reilly has also voiced concerns that children as young as 13 are taking drugs she said; “a very real problem

exists.

“Young teenagers are starting with cannabis and alcohol, there is dual addiction. They don’t see the long term harm that it causes.”

She added: “A few years ago Mephedrone was on the increase and we are just dealing with the effects of that. There is also the availabilty of hard drugs like cocaine.

“A serious drug problem exists right across the age spectrum. It has to be dealt with now by the authorities especially the education sector.”

Despite Ms O’Reilly’s disturbing comments, cannabis detection rates in G District are the lowest in Northern Ireland.

The recently released statistics indicate that only 236.7 grams of cannabis resin and 9 joints were discovered by police. A total of 62 cannabis plants were also found.

This is a significant drop in cannabis seizure compared to years gone by and is the lowest Cannabis seizure rate across the police districts.

Also, there has been a drop in the capture of amphetamines and cocaine.

A police spokesperson said; “In the last couple of years we have had some notable successes.

“Last year in Foyle we significantly increased the number of people charged with dealing drugs. Our seizures were amongst the highest compared to other areas.

“In the last six months we have not seen the same level of quality information coming from the community but we are taking a number of steps to address this.”

The District Police Partnership(DPP) chairperson Councillor Thomas Conway believes improvement is needed.

He said: “The DPP is aware of the figures and more can be done to combat this very serious problem. I don’t want to make excuses for the PSNI but the community must bring quality information to the police.

“There is a serious drug issue in the community and it must tackled with all the resources available.”

Operation Silent Guardian has been initiated as a tool to fight drug crime. It encourages the community to contact

police about drug use and dealing.

Commenting on how the police can handle the escalating drug problem Councillor Conway said: “I have absolute confidence that this issue will be a high priority. The public will see a major offensive by the PSNI in the new year.”