Ireland hit by ‘surge’ in cocaine trade
The European drug market appears to be experiencing a “surge” in the availability of high-purity cocaine, according to the EU drugs agency.
In a new report, the agency said the trade is being fueled by increased production, an expansion in the number of trafficking gangs, “call centres” in some countries, encrypted communication, social media promotions, and increased normalisation in nightlife settings.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (Emcdda) said the trend is reflected in a range of indicators, including treatment data and drug-related deaths.
Ireland recorded a 90% jump in new treatments for cocaine use over four years, from 297 in 2012 to 568 in 2016. In parallel, cocaine-related deaths more than doubled, from 21 in 2010 to 44 in 2015.
The report said Ireland was one of five member states with the highest prevalence of cocaine use.
In the last month, in two separate seizures, gardaí and Customs intercepted more than 100kg of cocaine (street value around €7.5m). Garda sources said the hauls would have gone to supply the festive party season.
Last August, 133kg of cocaine was found inside a container of a ship in Costa Rica bound for Cork.
The Emcdda report said the quantity of cocaine seized worldwide in 2016 reached the “highest level ever reported” (1,129 tonnes, a 23% increase on 2015).
It said that, despite continuing seizures throughout Europe, “large quantities of cocaine appear to be entering Europe at a regular pace” and law enforcement agencies were “facing challenges in containing the flow”.
It said that recent data indicated records levels of production in South America, rising for the third consecutive year in 2016.
The report, entitled ‘Recent Changes in Europe’s Cocaine Market’, said Balkan cartels were more visible in South America and were organising large shipments into Europe. It also said there was a significant presence of Columbian organised crime gangs in Spain.
Accompanying this was a rise in low volume direct-to-consumer cocaine sales via the darknet (hidden web).
It said new methods were emerging including “call centres” in parts of Belgium — although the centres are based in western Balkans and Spain. In this system, the consumer calls a central number, which dispatches a courier in the country of the buyer to make the delivery.
Social media is being used to “promote time-limited offers” and emojis (eg snowflake for cocaine) are used.
The report said there has been an increase in cocaine purity between 2010 and 2016. The agency expressed concern at the rise in cocaine-related deaths.
It said experts reported an “increasing acceptability and normalisation” of cocaine, coupled with increased disposable income.
Concluding, the report said: “The European drug market appears to be experiencing a surge in the availability of high-purity cocaine.” It said new methods, reflecting an ‘Uberisation’ of the cocaine trade, were clear signs of a competitive market in which sellers promote additional services “such as fast delivery anywhere at any time”.
It said there was a “qualitative change” in cocaine dealing, whereby social media is used to promote cocaine and that wholesale cocaine was being sold off to mid-level and retail vendors at lower prices who, in turn, can sell discounted produce to customers.
