“Putting the foot down” in drugs fight

The Area Commander for Limavady has put the substantial rise in the number of drugs seizures down to more and better information being reported by the general public.

In February this year, police in Limavady seized around £100,000 worth of illegal drugs following a series of raids in the Glens Estate near the town centre. In an interview with the Sentinel at that time, the PSNI’s Area Commander in Limavady, Chief Inspector Sam Donaldson said that there were a “number of lines of enquiry” still open, and that police were “not finished” in their fight against drugs. This has been followed up in the seven months since then by a series of further seizures, a number of which also came from the Glens Estate.

Chief Inspector Donaldson said that this year has been a successful one for the PSNI in terms of their fight against the proliferation of drugs, and that this is in large part due to the efforts and bravery of the public in reporting specific information about suspected dealers.

He said that the large number of seizures – which have risen from 24 last year to 37 this year, with arrests also up from 28 to 44 – coupled with the fact that numerous “high profile drug dealers” are now behind bars, means it is now “harder to get drugs in Limavady”.

He also moved to re-assure people in Limavady and the surrounding area that the vigilantism associated with the drugs trade in Londonderry was not something which is a great concern for the PSNI in Limavady, despite media reports of a group referring to themselves as the “North Derry Republican Group” pledging RAAD style activities against drugs in the local area.

Chief Inspector Donaldson said: “I think it is definitely a Derry phenomenon and it is not something that overly concerns me – but it is something that we will need to keep an eye on.

“I would like to re-assure people that in Limavady, the police seem to be the ones people are reporting the drugs problem to. I am thankful that people are confident in their police service and don’t feel the need to resort to this sort of vigilantism.” He added: “Vigilantism is absolutely and fundamentally wrong.”

Asked if the rise in the number of seizures of illegal drugs in Limavady was connected to what he called a “number of lines of enquiry” which were still open, the Area Commander agreed that this was what he meant when he said that police were “not finished” after the huge hauls from the Glens area at the beginning of 2012.

Speaking in general terms about the rise in the number of PSNI successes in tackling illegal drugs in Limavady, Limavady’s Area Commander said: “Last year, at this month we had made 28 arrests and 24 seizures. Today, we have made 44 arrests and 37 seizures. I want the public to realise that we really are putting the foot down. The information we have got from the public has been great.

“Sometimes people ring us and say that Joe Bloggs is dealing drugs. A lot of the time police will already know about that. What we can really use is specific information about what vehicle Joe Bloggs is driving, about people coming and going at the house at a certain time. People should not underestimate just how useful that is.

“While we still value the more general information, that more specific information, for instance about people frequenting the house at certain times of the day, is absolutely fantastic – and a great credit to the public that they are providing us with that information.

“In terms of the types of drugs, cannabis is the main one we are finding. We have found some amphetamine, cocaine and some mephedrone. That would reflect the situation in Enniskillen, Lisburn or anywhere else in Northern Ireland.

“I think we are seeing an impact on the ground from the increased success of the police against drugs and a lot of people are thanking us for that – I would like to turn that around and thank the public because it is their information which is allowing us to do that.

“Something I would like to say is that drugs statistics can sometimes be interpreted a number of ways. If our drugs statistics go up, some people would look at that negatively and say that it means there are more drugs in Limavady. Whilst the seizures have gone up – it’s not because the drugs problem has gotten worse – it’s because the public are giving us more information.

“Some of our high profile dealers we have had a lot of success with – they are now in custody.”

Asked if this meant it was now harder for young people to get drugs in Limavady, Chief Inspector Donaldson replied: “I think the right answer is that it’s harder to get drugs in Limavady. I would not like to communicate to the public that Limavady is a dangerous place to live, work and bring up children. There are the same problems in Limavady that there are in other areas of Northern Ireland. I have worked in a number of different places and I think it is unfair that Limavady has the title of the drugs capital of Northern Ireland.”

The top policeman in Limavady concluded: “That is the perception that a lot of people have, but it is not the case. I have to deal with people’s perceptions as well as the realities on the ground and that is why I am putting extra resources into tackling drugs in Limavady.”