IRELAND: 2005-2006 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL

UNCLAS DUBLIN 001497

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL, EUR/UBI
JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS AND NDDS
TREASURY FOR FINCEN
DEA FOR OIL AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR EI
SUBJECT: IRELAND: 2005-2006 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL
STRATEGY REPORT (INCSR) PART I

REF: STATE 209561


1. Please see below outline for post's submission as chapter
for 2005-2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report
(INSCR) Part I. POC for this report is Tom Rosenberger
(RosenbergerTM@state.gov).


2. I. Summary

The Republic of Ireland is not a transshipment point for
narcotics to the United States, nor is it a hub for
international drug trafficking. According to Government of
Ireland (GOI) officials, overall drug use in Ireland
continues to remain steady, with the exception of cocaine
use, which continued its upward trend. Seizures have also
increased as traffickers attempt to import drugs in larger
quantities. The GOI's National Drug Strategy aims to
significantly reduce drug consumption through a concerted
focus on supply reduction, prevention, treatment, and
research. In 2004, the GOI signed the European Arrests
Warrant Act 2003, allowing Irish police to have suspects
detained by foreign police and extradited to Ireland for
trial, and the Criminal Justice Act, enabling Irish
authorities to investigate international criminality in close
cooperation with EU member states. The United States and
Ireland signed a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) in
January 2001, which was ratified by the U.S. in 2003 and by
the GOI in July 2005. Ireland is a party to the 1988 UN Drug
Convention.

II. Status of Country

Ireland is not a transit point for drugs to the United
States, but it is occasionally used as a transit point for
narcotics trafficking to other parts of Europe, including
across its land border to Northern Ireland. Ireland is not a
significant source of illicit narcotics, though in a single
raid in 2004, officials found a quantity of precursors
intended to manufacture around Euro 500 million worth of
ecstasy and amphetamines.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005

Policy Initiatives. The GOI continued with drug abuse
strategies it established in its National Drug Strategy for
2001-2008. Its goal is to "to significantly reduce the harm
caused to individuals and society by the misuse of drugs
through a concerted focus on supply reduction, prevention,
treatment and research." By 2003, substance abuse programs
were a part of every school curriculum in the country and the
GOI launched the National Awareness Campaign on Drugs. The
campaign featured television and radio advertising, and
lectures by police, supported by an information brochure and
website, all designed to promote greater awareness and
communication about the drug issue in Ireland. Regional Drug
Task Forces (RDTF),set up to examine drug issues in local
areas, were fully operational throughout the country. The GOI
established a review procedure to measure how effectively
each department in the government is internally implementing
the National Drug Strategy. The GOI released the results and
recommendations of this review in June 2005. It found that 49
of the 100 actions set out in the strategy published in 2001
are completed or almost so, progress has been made in 45 of
them, and six need considerably more progress. The review
made rehabilitation of drug users a fifth pillar of the
strategy, and recommended greater availability of needle
exchanges and increased resources for community policing. A
Working Group was set up to develop a strategy for the
provision of integrated drug rehabilitation services. The
GOI announced a National Drug-Related Deaths Index on
September 27. The index will provide an accurate estimate of
people who die directly from drugs and an accurate estimate
of people who die as a result of the consequences of drug use.

Accomplishments. Seizures in 2003 totaled Euro 121 million,
three times the goal set in the National Drug Strategy,
2001-2008. (Figures for 2004 and 2005 are not yet available).
The Justice Minister attributed this both to the increase in
usage and improvements in law enforcement. The Irish Police
continued to cooperate closely with other national police
forces and on June 1, two Irishmen were among 11 people
arrested in Spain when over four tons of cocaine, worth an
estimated Euro 330 million, was seized. Authorities believe
the cocaine was intended for distribution to other European
countries, including Ireland.
E


Law Enforcement Efforts. Official statistics are not yet
available for 2005, but the Irish Police confirmed that
drug-related arrests remained constant over the previous
three years. There are normally 7,000-8,000 arrests annually,
including the approximately 450 arrests made by the National
Drug Unit (NDU) each year. The NDU's arrests tend to include
most of the large seizures, but local police also have had
success. For example, the local police in Limerick seized
over Euro five million of narcotics in 2005, including a May
13 seizure of 150 kgs of cannabis resin with an estimated
market value of over Euro one million. Each year, 60-65
percent of arrests for drug-related offenses nationwide tend
to be for simple possession; 20-25 percent possession with
the intention to sell; and the remainder related to
obstructing drug arrests or forging prescriptions. In 2003,
there were in total 7,150 arrests, of which 25 percent were
possession with the intent to sell and 67 percent simple
possession. Cannabis was the drug most often seized, followed
by heroin, ecstasy and then cocaine. The value of seized
drugs for 2003 was Euro 121 million. (Figures for 2004 and
2005 are not yet available).

Official statistics for 2005 are not yet available, but
highlights of key raids, arrests and prosecutions include the
seizure on March 22, where Police seized 200kgs of cannabis
with an estimated street value of Euro 1.5 million during a
search of a house in the Malahide area of Dublin. A man
jailed in April 2004 for possession of nearly Euro 16 million
worth of cocaine and cannabis had his prison sentence
increased from five to seven years by the Court of Criminal
Appeal in March. On June 30, a man who was caught by police
with Euro 108,000 worth of heroin and cocaine in 2004 was
jailed for six years by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. In
July, three men were arrested following the seizure of 20kg
of cocaine, worth Euro 1.5 million, in Portlaoise. On August
6, a truck driver, found in possession of cannabis and
cocaine with a combined value of over Euro 15 million, in
April 2003, was jailed for 10 years at Dublin Circuit
Criminal Court. On August 15, the NDU recovered cocaine worth
Euro 4.5 million in a raid on a house in Dublin. Police
believe that a major drug gang used the house as a base to
prepare, mix and package an average of eight kg of uncut
cocaine every two weeks for the past year for distribution
across south Dublin. The cocaine recovered had a purity of
almost 80 percent, compared to the average street-level
purity of between 25 percent and 30 percent. On August 24, as
part of the result of an ongoing investigation, police and
customs officials seized 1.2 tons of cannabis resin in
Kildare valued at Euro 10 million. This resulted in the
arrest and detention of three Irish men and a Spaniard under
Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act. In Dublin, on the
same day, police seized some 20 kg of cocaine, worth Euro 1.5
million. On October 4, during a planned raid on a crack
manufacturing operation in Dublin, police seized 900g of
cocaine, 300g of crack cocaine and other drug paraphernalia.
The drugs had an estimated street value of Euro 150,000. On
the same day, police and customs service officers seized 15
kg of cocaine, worth Euro 1.2 million, from baggage at Dublin
airport, and arrested two women in a follow-up operation.

Corruption. Ireland does not encourage or facilitate illicit
production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs
or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds
from illegal drug transactions. Senior officials of the
government do not engage in, encourage, or facilitate the
illicit production or distribution of such drugs or
substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug
transactions.

Agreements and Treaties. The United States and Ireland signed
a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) in January 2001,
which was ratified by the U.S. in 2003 and ratified by the
GOI in July 2005. An extradition treaty between Ireland and
the United States is currently in force, but to date, no
extraditions have been implemented in narcotics related
cases.

Ireland is a party to the 1998 UN Drug Convention, the 1961
UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the
1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic
Substances. Ireland has signed, but not yet ratified, the UN
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Ireland is
a signatory to the UN Convention Against Corruption. In 2004,
the Irish government signed the Criminal Justice Act into

law, enabling authorities across EU states to investigate
international crimes. In 2004, the European Arrests Warrant
Act became law, allowing for foreign arrests and extradition.

Cultivation/Production. Only small amounts of cannabis are
cultivated in Ireland. There is no evidence that synthetic
drugs were produced domestically this year.

Drug Flow/Transit. Among drug abusers in Ireland, cocaine,
cannabis, amphetamines, ecstasy (MDMA),and heroin are the
drugs of choice. A Council of Europe report on organized
crime, published in January, said Ireland had the highest
rate of ecstasy and amphetamine use in Europe and the second
highest rate of cocaine abuse. The UN Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2005, published in June,
placed Ireland in joint third place (out of 30 European
countries) for cocaine use and in joint sixth place for
ecstasy use. Cocaine comes primarily from Colombia and other
countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Heroin,
cocaine, ecstasy, and cannabis are often packed into cars in
either Spain or the Netherlands and then brought into Ireland
for distribution around the country. This distribution
network is controlled by 6 to 12 Irish criminal gangs based
in Spain and the Netherlands. Herbal cannabis is primarily
imported from South Africa.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). There are 7,100
treatment sites for opiate addiction, exceeding the GOI's
National Drug Strategy target of 6,500 treatment places. The
Strategy also mandates that each area Health Board have in
place a number of treatment and rehabilitation options. For
heroin addicts, there are 65 methadone treatment locations.
Most clients of treatment centers are Ireland's approximately
14,500 heroin addicts, 12,400 of which live in Dublin. In
2004, the GOI undertook an evaluation of drug treatment
centers' ability to cope with the leveling off of heroin use
and the increase of other drugs. Four pilot projects to
tackle cocaine use were announced in January, following a
number of reports which indicate that abuse of the drug has
increased substantially in recent years. The four projects,
aimed at different types of drug users in Dublin's inner city
and Tallaght, will differ in their approaches to dealing with
cocaine abuse. They will include; diversionary therapies
aimed at mainly intravenous users, group drug counseling,
individual drug counseling, and cognitive behavior therapy.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs

U.S. Policy Initiatives. In 2005, the United States continued
legal and policy cooperation with the GOI, and benefited from
Irish cooperation with U.S. law enforcement agencies such as
the DEA. Information sharing between U.S. and Irish officials
continued to strengthen ties between the countries.

The Road Ahead. U.S. support for Ireland's counternarcotics
program, along with U.S. and Irish cooperative efforts,
continues to work to prevent Ireland from becoming a transit
point for narcotics trafficking to the United States.


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