End of Troubles 'making it easier' for drug smugglers

The end of violence in Northern Ireland has made it easier for drugs smugglers to ply their trade on both sides of the border, police said today.

A lot of roads have opened and the risk of being caught has decreased, an Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) conference on narcotics in Belfast heard.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) drugs squad head Garry Clarke said drug gangs north and south of the border were profiting from normalised security arrangements.

"The opening of the border certainly creates more opportunity for people to travel, that is undoubtedly the way, but I don't think that it's increased exponentially from what it would have been at the time of the Troubles when we would have had roads blocked off, we would have had vehicle checkpoints," he said.

"Where there is a will there is a way.

"With peace those roads have now opened and with it I would suggest the risk of getting caught has decreased which makes it an opportunity for the criminals involved."

The detective superintendent said he enjoyed good cooperation with his colleagues from the Irish police service, An Garda Siochana, despite legislation meaning that his force could not pursue criminals across the border.

Mr Clarke said there was 360km (224 miles) of border to be policed and pointed out that neither the UK or Republic of Ireland had signed the Schengen Agreement which would allow both forces to cross the border.

He added people were using courier-style services to bring drugs across.

"There is evidence to support that the island is and can be used by criminals to bring drugs into other parts of the UK and Europe," he said.

He highlighted the conviction in the last two months in Northern Ireland of 14 people spanning six crime gangs.

To date seven have been sentenced, receiving 35 years in prison.

In the last week police officers have seized cocaine worth £300,000 in separate operations in Belfast and Ballymena, Co Antrim, and announced details of over £15m worth of cannabis confiscated over the past year in ongoing operations.

Mr Clarke said October last year had seen the birth of the "cannabis factory phenomena".

"We were taken aback by it but slowly but surely we started to discover more factories."

He said there were 79 factories discovered and 102 searches carried out during the six-month operation targeting those behind the problem.

"We have seen south-east Asian crime gangs moving into Northern Ireland, they are seeing perhaps Northern Ireland as an easy touch to come in here to grow and produce and to take it out of the province.

"We have shown, certainly with regard to robust action... there is a clear sign that anybody who thinks Northern Ireland is a soft touch is mistaken."

He said the problem started around London and had worked its way to Northern Ireland, but was unable to spell out how many drug dealers may be involved.

Garda Detective Superintendent Pat Byrne said recent gun seizures had saved lives.

There have been a series of gun crimes in Limerick culminating in the shooting dead of Shane Geoghegan, 28, earlier this month, but Mr Byrne's comments were separate from that investigation.

He said there were now a lot less weapons on the streets.

"We know where the guns were destined and we know some of the guns were headed for Limerick," he added.

Gardai have seized more than 200 firearms from Limerick's feuding gangs since 2005, with annual gun seizures rising more than three-fold over the past four years.

Mr Byrne said: "I cannot refer to any particular cases currently before the courts.

"We are satisfied that we have made inroads into dealing with organised crime and removing drugs and guns from the streets and will continue to do that."