‘Tip of the iceberg’: Drug intimidation crisis fear

Families terrorised by drug gangs are suffering in silence on a scale far greater than official figures suggest, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has warned, as moves are made to provide additional local Garda resources to tackle the growing problem.

Around 600 incidents of drug-related intimidation are reported to gardaí nationally each year, but the Commissioner believes this represents just “the tip of the iceberg”, with countless families too frightened or ashamed to come forward.

Speaking at a public meeting of the Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA) at Breifne College, Cavan, last week, Comm Kelly urged victims and their relatives not to suffer alone, insisting that stigma surrounding drug involvement should never prevent anyone from seeking help.

The meeting also heard that moves are being made locally to assign an additional Garda inspector with responsibility for dealing with drug-related intimidation reports - with one currently assigned to Louth and another based in Monaghan.

The issue was raised by Emma Reidy, chief executive of Aoibhneas Domestic Abuse Support for Women and Children. Comm Kelly said intimidation can range from threats and property damage to extreme violence and murder. In some cases, drug debts are passed on or sold to other criminal groups, which can then demand substantially higher amounts from already vulnerable families.

Comm Kelly revealed how one person had been threatened with the rape of their sister unless a debt was paid. He described the experience for relatives as “hugely traumatic” and “terrifying”, particularly when criminals arrive at the family home to issue threats.

He referred to the horrific petrol-bomb attack on a family home in Waterford, in which four people died and other young family members were seriously injured. The incident was compared with a similar attack in Edenderry some months earlier, in which occupants of a home were also killed.

What particularly struck the Commissioner was that further similar incidents were recorded in the days following the Waterford attack, despite extensive media coverage and public outcry. He described it as “unfathomable” that such attacks could continue in the aftermath of an incident that had attracted such widespread attention.

The PCSA reinforced the Commissioner's warning during a media briefing after the meeting, with Dr Elaine Byrne highlighting the extent to which drug-related intimidation remains hidden.

“From our talks with various communities around this country, and as the Gardaí themselves would acknowledge, it is hugely and vastly underreported,” she said.

She warned that the available figures were not representative of the true extent of the problem, which was widespread across the country rather than confined to particular geographical areas.

Commissioner Kelly stressed that families should never feel ashamed or fear being judged because of a relative's involvement with drugs.

“Even if you are a drug supplier, or your son or daughter is, if the family is subject to DRI, that doesn't matter to us. There shouldn't be any stigma about coming forward,” he said.

Reports can be made anonymously, and gardaí can gather information and evidence even where victims are unwilling to make a formal statement.

Comm Kelly said his greatest concern, was that families could be left to face ruthless criminals without support.

“The worst thing for me is to think of a parent or grandparent facing this on their own. People should not be alone in this.”